Faceless Shadows
by Valerie Sabrina Verzoe
Summary: AU. A man has many faces; a shadow has many forms. In search of dark secrets of the past and present, Nara Shikamaru teamed up with an extra troublesome woman as they dived into a web of conspiracy which may cost them their lives, or worse. A modern story.
1. The First Face

It was dead quiet outside, one could hear the humming sound penetrating the walls of the nightclub, where neon light shone – one would think they were high on drugs before even entering.

Normally, a person like him would be asleep.

But here he was - wide-awake, waiting.

Seamlessly, he checked again – the scope, the safety, the ammo … not a strand of hair out of place.

The man sitting at the roof opposite the nightclub stared at somewhere far away.

His slit like eyes shone, as he blinked, long eyelashes brushed his own face; his thin eyebrows furrowed themselves together, his lips downturned.

He was not such a big fan of waiting, too troublesome.

"Hey," he said, as if he was talking to the air.

"What?" In his ear, a voice hissed back. There was something raspy in her voice, he adjusted the device with his long sleek fingers.

"Hasn't it bothered you why your parents named you after a ball?" He said with an involuntary smirk on his face.

He pressed his hand onto his ear – a tiny piece of device dug itself in deeper.

His eyes thinned themselves into a line as he heard her sucking her teeth.

"Says someone whose name's literal translation is 'deer-ball'."

Reception was bad, but it was clear enough to hear her poisonous sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"It would be nice if you could stop these troublesome comebacks," he swore he could feel her tongue clicking through those earphones. "I mean, men don't really like it when women talk back so much, it's just annoying."

"One more word Nara, and I swear your mother won't be able to recognize you with all the holes I blow in your face."

 _And he knew she meant it._

He sighed and looked back into the scope. "Troublesome."

He muttered as his hand snaked its way up to the slightly curved trigger of his sniper rifle.

There he crouched, silent, blended in with the dark shadows formed by the bright light of the neon signs.

He waited.

And waited. It was a cool autumn night, the wind brushed past his dark self.

He stared as the middle aged man stumbled his way out of the nightclub, his steps wobbling, hands dangling over the two women dressed in low-cut, shining dresses; his almost bald head shining in the neon lights.

He tugged gently.

A hole appeared on his head, clean, circular, crimson liquid began to surge from the hole as he collapsed onto the ground.

The women's scream tore through the pitch-dark night.

He smiled as his finger left the trigger, gently and swiftly, he slid his way down to the shadows of the wall, his hands quickly dismembering the rifle into different metal parts, and shoved them into his backpack.

The next second, he slipped away and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

He stood there, waiting for the train to enter the subway station.

His hair causally tied up in a ponytail, a pair of frameless glasses clung itself on his tall nose.

His eyes glanced around lazily, one of his hand casually clinging onto the straps of his backpack.

At that moment, he could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket.

 _Unknown number. Encrypted as always._

He fished it out and pressed on it, slowly maneuvering it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Great job." He smiled as he heard her voice. "Glad you came out in one piece."

"I always do," he yawned as the train arrived, sliding into the station like a giant silver snake. "Getting packed in a body bag is too troublesome."

"Hmph." He smiled as he heard her smirk through the phone, and stepped onto the train.

"So when do I get the money?" He asked, as he scanned the train. One good thing about the subway trains in Konoha was that they run for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

"As usual, transferred in installments." These little moments of mutual understanding always makes him sigh softly and ends with an understanding smile on his face.

"How would I know that you are not absconding with my money?" He sniggered.

"As if I would," he could hear her snigger as well, through the phone. "If I want to, I would just find someone else to kill your chauvinistic ass before I do that."

The train was empty, save for one guy who was sleeping his head off, his face pressed against the glass of the window.

"Heh, you won't." He sat down next to a glass pane, his backpack on his lap.

"And why wouldn't I do that, Nara?"

"Because you love me." He said matter-of-factly, shrugging as if she could see him through the phone.

"You don't even know what I look like." He could imagine a smile on her face.

"I could feel it through your voice – too confident for someone who is ugly, so you're probably not ugly." He chuckled. "I can do not-ugly."

"Yeah, fuck you too." She clicked her tongue again. "I will call you if another job pops up."

"Good night, Temari." He said softly.

"Hmph." Her voice disappeared, replaced by an annoying beep.

* * *

"You seem to enjoy talking to him quite a lot," her brother commented, as she stretched her back, grinning from the phone call.

The woman jerked her head around, with a smirk on her face. "At least he is fun to talk to, not some maniac toying around with dolls all day long."

"You know I do that for a living," he rolled his small eyes.

"No, Kankuro." She rolled her eyes in a likewise manner. "We break the law for a living, your artsy-fartsy work is just some side money."

"Whatever," he yawned. "I am going to bed, gotta go back to the studio early tomorrow."

"Good night, Kanki."

"Shut up." The annoyance in his voice put a wide grin on her face.

She stretched her long, well-toned arms into the air and sighed loudly.

She turned and looked at the clock – _03:30._ It blinked at her like an evil eye in the dark.

Just at that moment, her phone vibrated on the table, buzzing rhythmically.

 _Unknown number -_ she arched an eyebrow and picked it up.

"Hello?" She asked cautiously.

"Just to tell you, I got home safely." That voice made her eyes thin like a line, she was almost squinting.

"How did you get my number?" Instantly alerted, she tracked her own phone on the computer, and made sure that the antivirus of her devices were working.

"Stop tracking or whatever you are doing," she swore the cockiness in his voice was overwhelming at the moment. "I decoded it during my train ride home."

"Yeah, yeah smart ass." She rolled her eyes, unaware that she was smiling.

"Anyway, I am going to bed." His lazy voice ended with a yawn. "Good night."

"Good night." Then she pressed on her phone with her thumb, a tiny smile on her beautiful face.

* * *

He walked along the shades of the tree, holding a book in his hand and brief case in another. Dressed in a leaf green shirt, complete with dark green tie and dark trousers, he walked into the lecture hall, which was actually a normal classroom.

The lecture room was filled with dozens of students, who stared at this man, walking to the lecturer's stand without another word.

"Welcome," he cleared his throat. Some students arched an eyebrow, not convinced that this young, lanky guy in front of them was their lecturer.

"I am your lecturer, Nara Shikamaru." He turned and wrote his name on the blackboard, on a piece of white chalk. "Introducting my academic history would be too troublesome – you can find it on my research profile on the faculty website."

The students looked at one another.

"Before Q and A, there is one thing I'd say to you: I won't ask you to do anything unreasonable, so just do your coursework and don't screw up in your exam, I won't flunk people just for the curve."

He then sat down in front of the teacher's desk, his legs resting onto the desk.

"Well, we are still in the course registration period, if you want to drop the class, go ahead." He yawned afterwards, putting his hand behind the back of his head. "Now, questions?"

The students stared at each other, some of them confused, some of them skeptical.

A guy put up his hand, and Shikamaru acknowledged him with a nod. "You over there in the blue shirt."

"Erm, Professor, how old are you?"

"One, I don't like the name professor, just call me Shikamaru." He arched an eyebrow. "Two, I am twenty two, going to be twenty three soon."

The students looked at him amazed, some shook their head in disbelief.

"I graduated at eighteen and completed my PhD in two years." He closed one of his eye and smirked at the students. "I just figured that teaching is one of the less troublesome jobs I can get, nice benefits too."

The students started to laugh, and another raised her hand.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, but I am not interested," he smirked, and the class fell into crazed laughter.

"What do you do apart from teaching?"

He arched an eyebrow, and smiled at the student who asked the question.

"I don't do much, it is just troublesome." Then he stood up, and patted the back of his head.

"Anyway, get your textbooks for the next lesson, we will start next week." Then he waved his hand and walked out of the lecture room.

The students stayed put, staring at one another, wondering how their first lesson ended in fifteen minutes, with the lecturer being five minutes late.

"Class dismissed," he stuck his head back in the door and announced exasperatedly. "What a drag."

He walked out hastily and turned into a dark corner, fishing his phone out of the pocket.

"Hello."

"Hey crybaby."

"Troublesome," a smile crept up to his face. "What's up?"

"New assignment," he could hear her smile even through the phone. "Go to the coffee shop next to your apartment tonight at six, I will meet you there."

"Really? Not dropping off this time?"  
"Yes, don't get too excited." Her voice faded into an endless beep.

He shoved the phone back into his pocket.

 _Looks like he has a date tonight._

* * *

Author's note:

Here is my new modern AU story! If you like Alcohol, Cigarettes and Paperwork, you will probably like this one too! (I hope haha)

Enjoy! Read and review :3

P.S. Don't faint over assassin-professor Shikamaru (too bad real-life professors don't look like him lol)

V.S.V xoxo


	2. Her

He pushed the door open; a chime rang as the door moved.

"Welcome!" The barista smiled widely as he walked in.

He looked at the clock. _18:15_.

As per usual, he was fifteen minutes late.

He took a good long look around, trying to fit Temari's confident, husky voice to any of the person sitting there.

The girl in the pink lacy dress, taking selfies with the latte art? No, definitely not Temari.

The old woman with a cup of coffee in her hand, shivering like a leaf? Hell no.

He stared at the middle-aged man dressed in a grey, three-piece suit.

Is it possible that Temari was a man?

He shuddered at the thought that he had been half flirting, half teasing with a man all the time for almost half a year.

Just before the thought of leaving flashed in his mind, he felt a hand resting on his shoulder.

"Hey," the barista approached him. "Your girlfriend is waiting for you at the corner for thirty minutes."

He pointed at the young woman sitting at the corner, flipping a book.

Shikamaru nodded. "Can you get me an expresso and a piece of chocolate cake? Thanks."

He took a gulp and approached slowly towards her.

"Excuse me?" He opened his mouth and made her raise her head, looking at him.

"You are late." A familiar voice; it almost made him sighed in relief.

He found himself at a lost for words.

Temari was definitely not ugly.

She was _beautiful._

Her emerald green eyes, lined with dark eyeliner shone as she glared at him , blonde hair tied up in four pigtails. A pair of headphones hung around her neck, hugging the beautiful curve. She was dressed in a fishnet top and dark skinny jeans, complete with a leather jacket and biker boots. A pink bubble emerged from her pouting mouth and popped. She folded it back in and chewed again.

She looked like she just came from a punk rock concert, not exactly what Shikamaru would picture her to be, but nevertheless she was beautiful.

"Hey." He tried not to stutter. "Sorry, I guess?"

"Hmph." She said nothing as he sat down.

"You called yourself my girlfriend, huh?"

"No, that guy just assumed that, I told him to find you and make sure you find me." Temari spat the gum out onto a piece of tissue paper.

He smiled at her. "So that's the way it is."

Temari took a sip from her coffee, and arched an eyebrow as the barista approached with a cup and a piece of cake.

"I haven't eaten anything for lunch," he explained as he took his first bite.

Temari said nothing, but she noticed that the barista was still glancing at the two of them.

"I am going to storm out, you are going to leave some cash and then chase me." Temari said, not looking at Shikamaru.

"What?" Shikamaru just took a first sip of his coffee, when Temari stood up and walked out quickly without a word.

Shikamaru immediately fished out some cash and ran after her. "Keep the change, " he muttered.

He ran after her for two blocks, before she stopped at a lamppost.

"Good, now we're clear." Temari smiled, patting Shikamaru on the shoulder.

He arched an eyebrow. "The barista?"

"Yea, he will be taken care of." Her smile was formal and cold. "Think he is somehow connected with the guy you put down last night, we don't need anyone connecting the both of us, not yet."

"So my cover is blown?" He scratched the back of his head. "What a drag."

"No, not really… but sooner or later they might notice, so better not take chances." Temari shrugged. "Now, take me to your place."

Shikamaru smiled. "Sure."

* * *

He unlocked the door and she walked inside.

If there were any word to describe his apartment, it would be minimal. The décor and furniture are all simplistic, with beige and grey tones.

"Your place is quite clean for someone who thinks everything is a drag," Temari commented, as she walked in and sat down on the sofa.

"Troublesome," he muttered. "My mother comes over and tidies up once a week."

"Mommy's boy, aren't we?" She smirked as she looked around.

"She doesn't have much to do," he sat down on an armchair next to her.

"Well," Temari leaned forward. "Shall we begin?"

"Sure thing."

"The reason why I needed to meet up with you this time, it is because this is an infiltration assignment, and I needed a partner in this." She said, fishing out a laptop from her black leather backpack.

"So, we are going to infiltrate into whatever it is together." He said, receiving an affirming nod from her.

"Yes," she replied. "To be exact, we are infiltrating into a party."

"A party?"

"Yes, a party organized by the Mayor of Konoha City for the visiting Prime Minister." She said. "Obtaining invitation is not a problem – actually you are invited."

"I am?"

"Naturally, you are the genius child," Temari rolled her eyes. "If you would check your emails properly you would have noticed."

"So you hacked my emails."

"Yes," she replied hastily. "Anyway, we are going to enter and then we will hack into the Mayor's computer."

"Because hacking from a remote location would disclose a trail." Shikamaru smirked.

"Hmph." Temari nodded. "So that is what we are going to do, we are going to infiltrate the party, hack the computer, get relevant stuff and then leave."

"Sounds like a plan." Shikamaru sighed. "You have the blueprints ready?"  
"I dropped it in your file site," she nodded. "But I don't think it is entirely accurate – they probably had security modifications."

"True." He shrugged, the two of them descending into silence.

Temari shuffled uncomfortably on the sofa for a minute before she stood up. "If that's all, I am leaving."

"Wait," he blurted out. "I need to ask you something."

"Sure," she sat back down, crossing her legs.

"How did you find me?"

His eyes darkened as his mind drifted back to that faithful day.

* * *

 _He crept inside his house, his hands, his shirt all covered in a coat of crimson._

 _He was careful not to wake his mother, as he walked into the bathroom, scrubbing his blood-covered body with soap._

 _Rubbing his hair dry, he walked back into his room; he sat down on his bed._

 _The face of the man flashed in his mind as he closed his eyes._

 _"Go ahead and do it, if you dare." His violet eyes shone tauntingly, tongue licking his thin lips._

 _The next second, all he remembered was his hand touching his chest, the blade he held buried deep inside his rib cage._

 _He remembered carrying his severed body in a large dark bag, driving to the country park and dumping it into a hold he dug especially for him._

 _He opened his eyes and tried to find the taste of sweet vengeance, it was like glorious nectar in his mouth._

 _He had done it._

 _He had avenged the death of Asuma – he had made the man who killed him die a terrible death._

 _At the very moment he decided to go to bed, his phone began to vibrate._

 _A million things passed through his mind._

 _The worst case was that he was discovered, the police, no, the man's accomplices are after him._

 _He picked up and said nothing._

 _"I know you killed him." It was a woman's voice, proud, husky and confident. "But that's not the end of the story."_

 _"You cannot prove it." He replied calmly. "Whoever you are."_

 _"That's not the end, Nara Shikamaru." He froze when she spoke his name. "You have merely nipped a bud of evil, their roots are deep and strong."_

 _"What do you want?" He demanded._

 _"I want justice, just like you. There is more to this."_

 _"Who are you?"_

 _"My name is Temari." She said. "And I have something to offer – a face."_

 _He said nothing as she continued.  
"I will give you extra identities so that we can both seek the justice we sought after." She smiled. "In the shadows, faceless." _

_He listened to the tempting offer she had, and smiled._

 _"Troublsome, but you have a deal."_

* * *

Temari looked away as a smile crept onto her face. "You are lucky that I was there to clean it all up for you."

"Why did you?" He arched a skeptical eyebrow.

"Because we have the same end goals, you killed him for vengeance, I wanted justice." Temari smiled at him. "Once you started on that path, you can't stop, either you get haunted for the rest of your life for killing, or you kill until you can't possibly feel anything."

Shikamaru sat there, rubbing the back of his neck. "True."

"I am sure your understand, you are too smart not to." She smirked.

"But Temari," he said, staring at her with his dark obsidian eyes. "Who are you?"

Her eyes darkened as she smiled. "Haven't you checked me up in the database or some sort?"

"I did." He replied. _Her records were ordinary – too ordinary in a way that someone like him would definitely know that it was fake._

"Hmph." She smirked. "I told you, people like us are faceless, identities are transcendence; it changes to our convenience."

"But really," he insisted. "Who are you?"

She stood up, the smirk still hanging on her lips. "You will find out someday, maybe."

Temari flashed him a grin before she left the door. "Anyway, I will be seeing you next week for the assignment."

Shikamaru stared as she disappeared through the door.

Just like the wind, she slipped in and out of his mind as she pleased.

He was not sure whether he hated or enjoyed this unpredictable relationship.

All he knew was that he was secretly looking forward for the next assignment.

 _Perhaps he wanted to feel less like a pawn in her little game._

 _Perhaps he just wanted to figure out who she really is._

 _Perhaps, he just wanted to see her again._

* * *

Author's note:

Another chapter!

It might be confusing now, things will become clearer as the story goes on so don't worry :)

And sorry, Asuma is dead (again) - It is an important to Shika's growth so sorry :(

Enjoy!


	3. The Party

He was sitting there, waiting for her.

She called him right after his lecture this morning, and told him to wait at his apartment.

He watched as the digital clock flashed 16:00.

At that split second, he heard his doorbell rung.

Standing up, he walked towards the door and opened it.

Instead of Temari, he saw an unfamiliar face.

He saw a woman, wearing a pair of swirling glasses; her blonde hair was of a lighter, greenish shade. Her skin was visibly paler, and she smiled at him timidly.

"Ho do I look?" An unfamiliar voice, much more repressed, timid; he quirked an eyebrow, scratching the back of his head.

"What…wait, who are you?" He asked, a little startled, his eyes scanning her up and down.

"Just let me in first, you dumb ass." Her familiar voice emitting from this strange face was a confusing scene to behold.

He moved aside and she walked in.

Closing the door behind him, he arched an eyebrow and stared, demanding an answer.

"Pretty good eh?" She grinned at him, slowly removing her glasses; beneath it he saw her eyes were brown, like dark espresso coffee he sometimes drink on Monday mornings. "Don't look so surprised, I told you that identities are nothing to people like me."

"So it seems," he said, his face relaxed back into his usual lazy expression. "Brief me on the details."

"Alright." Temari nodded. "I am your date for tonight, my name is Shiho." She put her glasses back on. "I am your research partner, and we are working on a new project recently."

He nodded as he studied her face – there was barely any thing that would lead anyone to think that she was someone else. More importantly, it was a forgettable face – ideal for an infiltration mission.

"So we would mingle for a while, I would sneak into the Mayor's office upstairs and get the files we need."

"And my job?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Just charm your way through everything, and make sure I don't get caught." Temari chuckled. "More importantly, use that smart head of yours to get us out of sticky situations."

* * *

He never liked a room full of people, especially with people who hung fake smiles and judgmental eyes on their faces.

Temari, no, her name is Shiho, he had to remember that.

Shiho hung onto his arm, looking timid and nervous – she was shivering in a way he was not sure whether it was Shiho who was nervous, or was it the real Temari who was shaking right now.

"You okay?" He turned his head at her and asked.

She nodded. Dressed in a plain black dress, she truly looked forgettable, someone you would pass without a second glance on the street.

He fixed his bowtie with his free hand, eyeing around, trying to recall the faces.

All he had was a blurred image, when suddenly a sharp pain emerged from his head.

He pressed his hand hard against the side of his head, gritting his teeth in pain.

He felt his knees softening, almost crashing onto the ground.

"Are you okay?" Temari helped him gain his balance.

"I am okay." He stood back up and straightened himself.

They walked towards the buffet table and got themselves glasses of champagne.

"Ah Shikamaru! I was not expecting you to come, imagine my surprise when I saw your RSVP!" The Mayor approached him, his white hair spiky and he grinned at him. Normally, he would proceed to greet his date – but Shiho was not exactly attractive, being forgettable the way she was, Jiraya proceeded without talking to her. "So how has your research been going on?"

"We are exploring new projects," he replied, trying not to sound too irritated.

"Good, good," he grinned back at him. "Lovely to hear that, if you would excuse me."

Shikamaru nodded, as the white haired man left their sight.

"I am going to go up now," Temari said, as she left his side and disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

Temari immersed herself into the crowd; no one has noticed her so far, and she found no resistance as she snuck upstairs into the Mayor's study.

Apprently the guards were having their own fun, so she agilely crept into the room and approached the computer, using the darkness as her cover.

Fishing a device out from her stockings, she plugged it in and quickly decoded the password, with a few taps on the keyboard.

With a gloved hand, she clicked on the mouse and browsed.

Her target sat in the documents folder, encrypted.

She smiled at herself, as she downloaded the documents.

Her heart started to race as suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching; she stared at the progress bar – 56, 57….

Immediately she withdrew the device, and snuck under the table as she heard the door opening.

She heard muffled voices, coming from a short distance; short, rapid breaths, and the sound of clothes ruffling – _someone was having a good time_.

She dared not move, she dared not take a deep breath, it was too precious a time to be caught.

Things on top of the table was being swept down next to her feet like leaves in a gust of wind. She could hear the moan of a woman, and following, a dark red dress descending onto the ground.

"Mr. Mayor…" She was disgusted by her honey coated voice, even more by his pervy, horny laughter.

"No one will see us here, my dear." He replied as slurping sounds replaced his disgusting voice. She moaned in response, then Temari heard a light slap, probably on his chest, since there was no sudden shift of movement or wince of pain.

"Really, let's go to your bedroom," she suggested, pausing his advances.

He muttered illegible sound as she picked up the dress from the ground.

Temari sighed in relief as she heard the couple left the room.

She crept out from beneath the table; making sure there was no one, she walked silently and closed the door softly behind her.

She walked down the staircase, bumping into two guards who just so happened to walk up the stairs.

"I am sorry, Miss, but upstairs is off limits." They scanned her up and down.

Temari tried to look as embarrassed and surprised as possible. "I…I am so sorry, I was looking for the washroom." She said, her voice shaking, as vulnerable as she could.

The guards looked at each other skeptically, as suddenly one of them jerked his head around to see a lazy looking man with a firm hand.

"She is with me, I was just looking for her," then he turned ar her, looking very concerned. "Honey, I was just thinking where you went, we were just talking to the Commissioner of Police."

"I…I…" Temari was about to reply when Shikamaru reached out and pulled her hand. He turned to the guards as he pulled her towards his back. "Sorry boys."

"No harm done, sir." They said hesitantly as Shikamaru held her hand and led her back into the crowd.

Temari said nothing, as Shikamaru placed his hand on her waist and pretended they were dancing, just like everybody else. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"What were you thinking?" she asked, a strange shade of pink creeping up her face.

"Getting you out of trouble," he replied. "I am supposed to do that, aren't I?"

"I…I could have gotten out on my own." She muttered, staring at their swaying feet.

"Troublesome." He smiled as they moved along with the gentle music.

He moved forward and whispered into her ear. "When are we leaving?"

"We can do it now, take me to the side of the crowd." Shikamaru nodded and led her to the edge of the crowd, as Temari placed a hand on her head and began to lean onto him.

"Are you okay?" He knew she was pretending to faint. She did not respond, and as the concerned date he was, he held her up like one would hold a princess, and began to walk out of the ballroom.

* * *

He put her in the back of the car, and walked to the driver's seat.

"You know, I can have shotgun," she said, eyes still closed, her body curling up at the back.

"Best do the whole set." He smiled as he started the car and began to drive. "So what have you got?"

"Something I wanted to get for a long time." She smiled. "Important files."

"About what?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Project Six Paths." She replied.

Shikamaru frowned.

That name was strangely familiar, but something went blank in his mind.

He could not remember.

He did not understand.

All he could do is wait for an explanation from the mysterious blonde woman, lying on the backseat of his car.

But he barely knew who she is?

Does he?

* * *

Author's note:

Here is another chapter! Sorry for the late update:3

The story is about to get more exciting (and unfortunately, more confusing); more shikatema moments to come, so stay tuned!

Enjoy!

V.S.V xoxo


	4. First Piece of the Puzzle

He sat on his sofa, as faint sounds of the running shower came from the bathroom.

He fidgeted his fingers as he waited; Temari would not let him touch the storage device – she brought it into the shower with her.

He decided to wait, since she dragged him into this, she would let him know.

 _He has the right to know, after all, he did what she told him, hell - he killed for her._

She walked out of the shower, the light tinge of greenish blonde had faded from her hair, revealing her original, sandy blonde hair; she removed her contact lens, and showed her mesmerizing teal green eyes. She sat next to him, her legs crossed; in her palm was the device, a green light flashing.

"Phew," she sighed in relief as she stretched and plugged in the device.

Her sleek fingers tapped onto the keyboard of his computer.

He browsed briefly, there were two folders.

 _Project Six Paths_ – that was one of them - the one Temari mentioned. The other was another called _Project Labyrinth._

He arched an eyebrow at the extra folder, but said nothing as Temari clicked into the folder.

 _Encrypted – as expected._

Shikamaru smirked and fished out a decoding device from his pocket, causing Temari to arch an eyebrow. "Well-prepared, aren't we?" She said casually.

"I minored in computer science back in university," he muttered and plugged it in.

Temari had an emotionless expression on her face, something he could not decode. "So you have."

Shikamaru decided to shrug it off. The melachonic tone in her voice that hung on the air sent tinges down his spine.

The device began to run a programme, which quickly decoded the encrypted folders, causing windows to emerge on the computer screen.

There were ten profiles – each of them had their names.

"Shukaku, Matatabi…Kurama." Shikamaru muttered as he read the names of the files.

There were names matching under each file, he quickly scanned over the information – apparently everyone was deceased, save for two.

Shukaku and Kurama.

He stared at the photos affixed.

'Shukaku' was a young man with red hair and dark circles surrounding his eyes; on his forehead was a red Chinese character 'love', he appeared uninterested in the photo, teal eyes affixed in an intense gaze.

Something about this man reminded Shikamaru of someone he knew.

According to the file, 'Shukaku' was unaccounted for.

'Kurama' was another young man, his hair blonde like yellow paint, his eyes blue like the ocean, he had a confident grin in the photo, unlike the red-haired boy. In his file, it was said that he was 'neutralized' instead of deceased.

His face was again, strangely familiar. Something

"What does this mean?" He studied the limited information on the files carefully; they were experiment reports, testing the strength and abilities of the individuals listed in the folders.

 _These are not some random individuals – they are all special agents, biologically engineered vigorously to be the best of their field._

 _But there were no details as to their abilities, their track records …_

 _All Shikamaru knew from the brief information, was that they were extremely dangerous, and that only two of them were left in this world._

He looked up and saw Temari sitting there, silently as she studied the files.

"You okay?" He landed a hand on her shoulder.

She smiled, shrugging his hand off awkwardly. "Yeah, just that we need more information."

"Why are we doing this?" He looked at her; she stared back with an understanding gaze.

Sighing at the question, she stood up and stretched. "I am going to make us some tea, you want some?"

He nodded, and stared at her back as she went into the kitchen.

His gaze turned to the other file, quickly clicking and decoding the file, he discovered a list of names.

 _Project Labyrinth._

His mouth opened in surprise, as he discovered a list of names.

Strangely, his childhood friends – Yamanka Ino, Akimichi Chouji were among them.

Even more surprisingly, there was one name that he could not resist to click on.

His own name.

 _Nara Shikamaru._

His dark obsidian eyes widened in confusion.

His found his finger wavering in mid-air, hesitating to press onto the button.

Something told him to press onto him, another part of him was stopping him from pressing

His chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, his finger landing on the mouse.

A file popped up, his photo affixed to the right hand corner.

He saw his personal information – his birthday, his height and weight …

There were several remarks – _IQ 200, highly analytical, extremely dangerous …_

 _Status: Neutralized_

 _What does it mean?_ He thought to himself, his hand resting on his chin.

What does it mean to be 'neutralized'?

Temari emerged in front of his confused self, holding a cup of tea.

"What is Project Labyrinth?" He demanded calmly, Temari tilted her head to the side, but her gaze sold her out – she _knew._

"Project Labyrinth?" She repeated after him.

"It says I am neutralized, right here." He said plainly, as Temari placed the tea in front of them.

He could sense her tightening up; she did not say anything in return.

Temari stared in front at the cup of steaming tea, sitting stiffly like a statute; he could see her tapping on her lap nervously with her long sleek fingers.

"How long have we been working together, Shikamaru?"

"Almost two years." He replied, his dark eyes still fixated at her.

"How many have you killed?" Her teal green eyes shone dimly, like a vortex in a calm green lake.

"I lost count," he closed his eyes for a second, and turned back at her. "Tell me, Temari. Who are you? Who am I?"

Temari blinked and stared back at him.

"You are Nara Shikamaru." She said jokingly, a rather nervous grin on her face. "And I am Temari."

He sighed and pointed at the screen. "This Shikamaru or me?"

The man on the screen stared back with a stern gaze, but an unmatching lazy expression.

He stared into her green eyes in search of an answer, a clue, anything.

She offered nothing in return, her expression indescribable – she was sad, confused and irritated all at the same time.

"I wish you could remember," she said softly, the sarcasm fading in her voice, replaced with genuine concern. "I don't know if you will ever do."

Shikamaru felt like something was conking him on the head, he pressed his hand onto his scalp, but nothing – _his mind was blank._

"I have always had that feeling that you knew me even before… before I…"

Shikamaru threw his head back and laid onto the sofa, one hand covering his face.

His head jerked up as he felt Temari's hand resting on his lap.

"It's getting late, you should rest," she said. "Go get some sleep in your room. I promise I will tell you tomorrow, I have more information back at my place."

He nodded in agreement, gently nudging her up.

Temari arched an eyebrow in confusion, only to meet his smirking face and dark eyes.

"You take the room, it is too troublesome to have a woman sleep on the couch."

He stood up and walked into the room, returning with a blanket and pillow.

"It's all yours now," he said. Temari smiled at him, and walked into his room.

"Good night," she said, as she closed the door behind her.

Shikamaru tried to look back at his life – it was already crazy enough since that night he killed that bastard – the first person he had ever killed.

But now, this woman, this troublesome woman who appeared out of nowhere and had information telling him that his past was fabricated, that everything was a lie.

But she was hiding something, something even Temari was afraid to say.

Why is she doing this?

What is her purpose?

Why him, instead of any one else on the list?

Who is he?

It appears that he had entered the Labyrinth himself, and this, this was only the first piece of the puzzle.

There is no turning back.

* * *

Author's note:

Another chapter! Main plot line appearing now! (although it is still confusing)

Enjoy! Do tell me how you feel about this!

V.S.V xoxo


	5. Revelations

He waited quietly outside her door, as his finger left the doorbell and slid back into his pocket.

The address he got from her was rather normal – too normal.

He found himself at the door of a cozy little house at the city suburb – he was not quite expecting that.

Something about this place reminded him of something, deep inside his mind.

His mind went blank for two seconds before the door opened slowly.

"Who are you?" He found a man staring at him, he was taller than him, slit-like brown eyes staring at him skeptically. Something about his demeanor reminded him of Temari.

"I am looking for Temari." He said, shrugging.

The man scratched his brunette hair, and turned around. "Temari, someone is looking for you."

"Let him in." He heard her voice coming through faintly in the background.

He backed away and let Shikamaru into the house. Shikamaru nodded at him and took off his shoes.

"She is in her room, upstairs on the far end on the left." He pointed towards the staircase. "She said you should go up and find her."

He nodded again, and walked up the stairs. "Thanks," he muttered, and was responded by a slight mumble.

He reached the door and knocked.

The door slowly opened, Temari's emerald eye emerged from the slight gap, she stared at him.

"So you found your way here." She said, her voice calm and steady.

He nodded, as he entered the room.

There was a sea of documents and photos, littered all over the ground. Unorganized, chaotic – just like the state of his mind right now.

"What is this?"

"Information." She replied hastily. "Documents, pointers – pieces to one of the greatest puzzles."

Shikamaru sat down on her bed and picked up a photo.

 _It was a photo of them – strangely._

 _His expression was lazy, coupled with a sluggish smile on his face; his arm was slung casually over her shoulder, she frowned, looking a little annoyed, but the smile on her face betrayed her – she was happy, to say the least._

"What is this?" He took it up and raised it in front of her.

"A photo," she replied. "Of you and me."

"But why?" _As if his mind was not perplexed enough._

Temari sat down, looking down at piles of paper littering all around her room.

"What do you know about yourself, Nara Shikamaru?"

Something in her voice was piercing deep into his mind.

 _Who are you? Nara Shikamaru?_

 _He tried to think._

 _Ever since he remembered, he was called a genius – his intelligence far above his peers, even his seniors._

 _Life was boring … until that one day; they told him that Asuma was dead._

 _And then his father went missing – his mother told him that he was stationed at a far away research station – but he was convinced that even she was tricked into believing that._

 _And then he killed that bastard called Hidan, and then it was working with Temari._

"What if I tell you, that everything was a well constructed, subconscious lie?" Temari stared at him, straight into his dark obsidian eyes.

Her green eyes were dimly lit, like great lakes in a majestic forest.

"What if I tell you that your memory was tampered to cover up a official, no, international programme that would shook the countries to their cores?"

She sounded serious, too serious for his liking.

"Nothing surprises me now." He replied.

"You are the missing link, Shikamaru." Temari said, her eyes drifting around slowly. "If only you could remember everything … then we will have a full case against them."

He raised his hand and touched his temple. "You mean … my memory was tempered."

She nodded, looking at him sadly. "I don't know how, but all I can tell you is this."

She took a deep breath.

* * *

 _Temari shot up from her bed, holding the vibrating mobile phone like it was her life line._

 _It was the only way of communication – whoever had Shikamaru left her this, with a note demanding her to standby for any news of him._

" _Hello?" The desperation in her voice was dripping, he cannot be dead, he cannot be missing …_

" _Temari." The cold voice on the other end of the phone was devoid of any emotions. "You hold the key to everything."_

" _What do you mean?" She felt hysterical, the worry burning through her body like wild fire. If she could she would have strangled the man across the phone._

" _You must stay calm, or it will be the end for all of us." He said, sounding slightly irritated. "I mean everyone, including Gaara."_

" _What – wait, what about Gaara?" As if she was not worried enough. "You said you would keep him safe."_

" _I made you a promise yes, but you remembered the pact – you make sure Shikamaru goes on the designated path and I make sure Gaara stays alive."_

" _Yes." She sucked her teeth. "What's next?"_

" _Call this number, and guide him."_

" _How?"_

" _You will know. We will be in touch." Then it was an endless void of beeping sound on the other end._

 _Her phone vibrated again, a message with a phone number, from an unknown number. Call now – it said._

 _She did as she was told._

 _The phone was connected – the other end was silent, but she knew her job._

" _I know you killed him." She acted as confident as she could. "But that's not the end of the story."_

" _You cannot prove it." She could not feel more relieved to hear his voice; she could feel the tears brimming at the rim of her emerald eyes._

" _Whoever you are." The sentence cut through her. The 'normal' Shikamaru would have recognized her voice right away – this was him; but it was not him anymore._

 _The cold truth stared her straight in the face – Nara Shikamaru was 'neutralized'._

 _All his memories flushed away._

"Do you remember anything?" She stared at him, her eyes lighting up a little. "Anything at all?"

"Not really," he shook his head in dismay. "I don't recall anything about a mysterious guy, whatsoever."

Temari sighed slightly. "So I thought."

Then she pressed her hand reassuringly on his shoulder, resting for mutual comfort.

"Don't worry, I will try everything I can to get your memories back – they are too important to lose." There was a sense of confidence and comfort in her voice that made Shikamaru wanted to believe everything she said, despite how ridiculous it sounded to him.

She smiled at him reassuringly – Shikamaru felt something tickled in his heart.

He could not help but smiled back at her.

"Sometimes I feel like I know you for a very long time, a very very long time." He said softly. "How troublesome."

Temari frowned a little, the smile still hanging on her face. "You have."

She escorted him to the door with a nod and a reassuring smile.

"We will start tomorrow." He nodded at her suggestion.

He walked out of the door, just before Temari leaned back and slid down, silent tears rolling down her face.

He was a small step closer in getting his memories back.

She was a small step closer in getting everything back.

Shikamaru was not sure what to think.

Temari hoped and dreaded for tomorrow to come.

* * *

Author's note:

Some more plot lines! I hope it is not too confusing haha

Sorry for the late update, school is getting busier and I am thinking of finishing my other stories (before starting another haha)

Anyway, enjoy! Read and review xoxo

V.S.V


	6. Tangled

They stopped in front of a wall of barbed wire fences; Shikamaru stared at the white building behind it, which was barely visible in the cover of the night.

"Do you remember this place?" Temari asked. He shook his head.

"I can't recall anything," he said, pressing on the side of his head. "I wish I could."

Temari smiled at him and pressed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Let's get in," Temari clawed her hands onto the wired fence and in several swift movements, she leapt over the fence and stood on the other side.

"Hurry up." She urged, as Shikamaru followed suit.

"Is this even safe?" He arched an eyebrow as they walked soundlessly towards the entrance of the building.

"You are asking me, you who kill people as a side job." Temari rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, this place is off the records – so nobody would even know."

They entered the building; Temari flashed a torch and led the way.

"Still don't recall anything?" She asked, only to see him shake his head in response.

"I don't suppose you would, so quickly." She shrugged.

They took a few turns and took a few flight of stairs.

Temari knelt in front of a particularly large steel door, fishing out a small device and plugging it in, the small black box began to decode.

The steel door opened after a loud beep. The two of them walked inside.

It was a large arena - the ceiling of the dome was very high, complete with spectator's stands above and floodlights, although those were covered with dust and cobwebs.

"Do you remember this place?" Temari led Shikamaru to the middle of the dome, and stood there.

He stood, staring all around him, he began to see flashes, pictures, fragments.

 _"You are to fight until I tell you to stop."_

 _"Troublesome."_

 _"Just keep talking," the picture shifted to an image of a long-haired girl, who was staring at him smugly. "I will make sure you suffer!"_

 _Clashes, sounds of thumping and clashing of arms and kicks._

 _The next thing he saw was his blade resting on her neck, he was panting._

 _"Kill her."_

 _The girl stared at him desperately._

 _He sighed and dropped the blade. "Too troublesome."_

 _"Are you defying my order?"_

 _He remembered looking up …_

Shikamaru pressed on his forehead painfully, yelping in pain, he crouched down onto the ground.

"Are you okay?" Temari looked at him concerned, she knelt down next to him. "What do you remember?"

"A girl, dark hair, dark eyes, he asked me to kill her," he said, panting. "But I couldn't see his face."

"At least you remembered something," Temari said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Don't push yourself, we can try another place and see if you remember anything."

Temari helped him up, as he stood, he jolted and his mind plunged again.

 _"Leave it, he is just lazy as fuck," a voice emerged._

 _His vision turned and he saw her – blonde hair, green eyes, smirking at him._

 _"I bet you won't be able to beat me," she said, turning her thumb downwards at him._

 _"Troublesome."_

 _The next thing he recalled, she was finally restrained, but he was badly battered up, both of them were panting, as she waited for his finishing blow, glaring at him angrily._

 _"I give up," he said, shrugging. "Too troublesome."_

 _"Very well," the mysterious voice came again._

 _He helped her up, with her pushing him away roughly._

 _"I can't believe you beat me."_

 _He remembered his heart racing when shaking his head._

 _"Troublesome."_

Shikamaru turned and stared at Temari.

"We fought." He said, confused. "Right here."

"Yes we did," she replied. "We met here the first time, when we fought."

"Why did we fight?" He looked at her, putting his hands on her shoulder. "If we were enemies, why are you helping me? Why did we take photos together?"

Shikamaru shrugged and walked further away.

"All of this is so troublesome, I don't understand."

"Don't worry, you are doing remarkably well." Temari said, smiling painfully. "Especially for a lazy ass like you." She whispered, staring at Shikamaru, who was pressing his hand against the wall.

She approached him from his back, tapping him on the shoulder. "Maybe we should just call it a night."

Shikamaru turned around, his dark eyes stared straight into Temari's brilliant green eyes.

 _"I still can't believe you beat me."_

 _"Heh, troublesome. A man shouldn't be defeated by any woman."_

 _"I bet I can beat you somehow."_

 _"Try me."_

 _"Let's have a staring contest, whoever blinks will lose."_

 _"Are you serious?"_

 _He smiled and looked into her brilliant green eyes._

 _She thought she saw her own smirking reflection from his dark vortexes._

 _Tick._

 _Tock._

 _Tick._

 _Tock._

 _He could feel his heart pounding against his chest, he felt weirdly hot, as if he was burning …_

An irresistible urge took over him, as he cupped his hands around her face.

She did not flinch, she just stared at him, as he leaned forward and covered her lips with his.

He broke away and stared at her, she didn't move, her face was emotionless.

"I am sorry." He said softly. "I don't know what came over me."

Temari caught his hand with her hand, and gently pushed it away.

"We should call it a night, you have to teach tomorrow." She smiled faintly. "Let's go."

* * *

"As I have said, the test will count part of your final grade, if you have any problems, you are welcomed to meet me in my office after class. I will be there until five today."

Shikamaru tapped on the table, as the class stared at their professor. Some of them looked devastated, some of them looked content, and some seemed to have other matters on their mind.

Shikamaru walked out of the lecture hall, and was stopped promptly by a girl.

"Professor, I want to talk to you." She said through her painted red lips, cat-like eyes staring at him. "Privately."

"Sure," he said.

She followed him to the office, as he took his seat in his chair, he pointed to the chair opposite from across the table. "Take a seat."

She sat down promptly. "Professor, my grade is not very good," she said, showing him the paper.

"Ah, you got a C," he replied, one eye closed. "I think it is a proper grade, since you missed out quite a lot of the points in your essay."

"Is there any way that can improve my grade?" She blinked her eyes, long eyelashes brushing her cheeks. "I would do _anything."_  
Shikamaru shrugged at her. "Study harder I guess."

She pouted, and stood up. "Oh please, mister, I would do _anything_."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Please don't be so troublesome," he said. "The door is that way."

She smirked as she walked up to him, her finger resting on his chest, slowly sliding down to the buckle of his belt.

Shikamaru stood up and backed away. "That's quite enough."

"Oh please," she blinked. "I have never seen a man that would reject me."

"I don't mind being a first," he replied.

She smirked again and winked at him. "Surely you wouldn't mind some afterschool entertainment?" She proceeded to move her hand to the bottom of her blouse, and pulled it up, revealing a lacy black bra beneath that was barely containing her bosom.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes again and prayed for someone to come and save him.

"Hey," he heard a saving bell, and turned his gaze upon the door.

Temari stood there, looking at the situation with both confusion and amusement.

"Oh?" She arched an eyebrow, a smirk appearing on her face. "Am I interrupting, dear?"

The word 'dear' stung in his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

She was dressed in a sleeveless blouse, complete with white trousers and stilettos that made her look like she just stepped out of the office.

The girl blushed so hard she looked like a scorched tomato. She quickly put her blouse back out and dashed for the door.

"You left your paper," Temari smirked again, holding the paper in her hand. "It's not like you want a C hanging around with your name on it."

The girl ran back in to get the paper before storming out again.

Temari waited until she no longer heard her footsteps before bursting into laughter.

"You looked like you were filming a porno, I was thinking whether I should come in." She could barely finish her sentence before bursting another fit of laughter.

"Troublesome," he rolled his eyes, before resting them back on her.

"Why are you here anyway?" He raised an eyebrow as she finally stopped laughing.

"What do you think? Of course I am here to help you find your memories, which is exactly why we are getting dinner together."

"We are?"

"Just shut up and follow me." She reached over and grabbed his hand. "Hurry!"

Shikamaru grabbed his brief case and was pulled out of the room.

He could not help but smile as she pulled him through the corridors, something about her bossy air just made him feel strangely familiar.

He was happy about regaining his memories, but something frightened him at the same time.

 _What if Temari was not who he thought she is?_

 _What if this is all an act?_

He wanted to know everything, but he did not want to know at the same time.

He did not want to realize one day that she was not who he thought he was.

Because he was falling in love with her.

* * *

"Hold on, you go get the car, I need to go to the washroom." She suddenly let go of his hand, and tossed him her car keys.

"Aren't you afraid that I will ditch you?" He smirked. "It's a long way from home."

"You know fair and square I will kill you if you do." She winked before turning around and walking away.

He stared at her back and smiled, what he did not see was a murderous glint in her emerald eyes.

She closed the door of the ladies' room soundlessly.

"Yes, I almost got him." She heard the familiar voice – it was the bimbo she saw at Shikamaru's office. "I had the pill beneath my tongue, could have slipped it in, but yeah."

Then Temari heard a flush, she stood next to the stall, and as soon as the woman walkd out of the stall, she stabbed her neck with a needle. The sharp end pierced the skin and into the vein with deadly precision.

"Argh!" Temari covered her mouth, her hand still firmly against the woman's neck, her other arm wrapping around her shoulder and dragging her down.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," she said, with a smile on her face. "You won't be dead, just your brain will turn into mush, and you will become a vegetable."

The woman rolled her eyes back, trying to take a look at the face of her attacker.

"Oh, and just one more thing before you pass out." Temari said, as she gently removed the needle and putting it back into her purse.

She let go of the woman, as she began to collapse, gasping for breath.

Her vision began to blur, as she saw a few shapes with a shade of blonde, the periphery of her vision darkening, and her hearing started to fail.  
"Don't you dare touch _my_ boyfriend."

The last thing she heard was a thud, and then everything turned dark.

* * *

Author's note:

Long time no update! I hope you enjoy the story :D

Well things are staring to clear up as Shikamaru began to remember :)

Anyway, enjoy! Read and review xoxo

V.S.V


	7. Bullets

He waited for her to call him, even now that he remembered bits and pieces, he was still at her mercy – she knew what happened, but she refused to tell him.

He sat in his apartment without the lights on, only the flooding light of the streets lit up the space dimly. He stared at his palms – _who is he? Where is he from?_

 _Is his mother really his mother?_

He ruffled his hair with his hand, frustrated at his inability to remember anything.

His phone rang – almost without hesitation he picked it up; it was the voice he was waiting for.

"Get your ass downstairs, pack firepower," she said, hastily, without a second thought.

He smiled as her voice disappeared from the device. Immediately, he went into his room and opened the safe, inside was dismantled pieces of his assault rifle. He shoved them into his bag, inside his jacket he tugged in a handgun.

He made sure to bring extra ammo, just in case.

She was standing downstairs, dressed in dark clothing and combat boots, she looked like she meant business.

"What are we going to do today?" Shikamaru arched an eyebrow, asking her.

"Break-in," she replied, pulling a mask over her face and pulling her sandy blonde hair into a slick bun. "Should be easy."

Shikamaru said nothing and pulled a mask over his face.

"We are going to get inside, and we are going to get the SD card from inside the computer core, it's going to be heavily guarded, so be careful."

"Uh huh," he replied. "How troublesome."

His face suddenly jerked sidewards, facing her.

She had stopped the car, both of her hands were on his face.

"This is no laughing matter," she said sternly. "They have real guns, so do we – people will die." Her gaze was strong against his eyes, he could feel her eyes boring into his skull.

"Yes 'mam." He muttered through his half-squashed face.

"Anyway, we are here." Temari clocked her gun, as she exited the vehicle. "Don't do anything stupid."

Shikamaru stared at the heavily guarded building, complete with cascading floodlights, patrolling guards armed with guns and watchdogs.

She sneaked in, soundlessly through the exhaust vent. Masterfully, she unlocked the vent cover right over their target, and lowered herself into the vicinity.

He lowered himself into the room, only to see a large pillar, glowing and blinking as tubes attached to it flashed repeatedly, he recognized that was one of the newest computer cores, of a supercomputer, one that in fact, he helped assembled.

"Now, hurry and get whatever we need." She stared around anxiously.

"There are like a dozen SD cards in here, I don't know which you want."

He could hear her suck his teeth. "It should be one that is the oldest model."

Shikamaru attached his computer to the machine, his eyes darted around the system, hoping to see the item he wished to locate.

He searched and searched – he found it.

At that moment, something seemed to hit him in his mind.

 _"Hurry up," she said, he was deciphering the code to the vault, as she stood next to the wall anxiously._

 _"Don't worry, I predicted everything, they won't be coming here for at least another five minutes."_

 _"Just hurry," she said again, her voice coated with anger._

"Are you done yet?" Temari's voice rang in his head again, she knocked him on the back of his head.

"Ouch," he scowled. With a few clicks and taps, he stood up, and reached into the core with a screwdriver. A tiny chip emerged from the core, as he picked it up and put it into a zip-lock bag. At the same moment, the machine began to flash in red colour, an alarm began to sound.

"Fuck," Temari muttered as she climbed back up into the vent. "Hurry!"

Shikamaru climbed, his feet barely missing the two shots fired by the guards.

They climbed frantically, Temari kicked open one of the vent covers and leapt down. "They will lock down the vent, we must take another route."

"They knew it too," Shikamaru commented as the two began to run from their pursuers.

Slamming themselves against the corner, Temari leapt out and fired a couple shots before rescinding back to the corner. "We are going to get out from the backdoors, now that everything is in chaos right now."

Shikamaru said nothing, and followed her; he noticed that something was dripping from her as she walked.

 _Blood._

But he knew well enough, not to talk about it, not unless they got to safety first.

* * *

"I will drive," he said. "Get in the car."

Temari looked surprised for a second for his sudden serious attitude, but she nevertheless listened to what he said and got into the car.

"You put pressure on your wound." He said as he stepped hard on the gas, the car moved swiftly away from the facility.

Temari frowned, and pressed onto the side of her waist. "It's not that deep," she muttered. "The bullet barely touched me."

"Shut up," he retorted. Temari said nothing afterwards, only pressing onto the side of her waist.

They stopped at his apartment, he helped her out of the car.

As he opened the door, he moved her inside gently and put her onto the couch.

He walked into the bathroom and came out with a first aid kit.

"Roll it up," he ordered, as he took out bandages and disinfectant from the white box.

Temari looked at him for a second, "I can't."

Shikamaru looked back at her, only to realize that she was wearing a body suit.

He helped her up, and without another thought, he zipped the bodysuit off and underneath it, she did not move, allowing him to yank the clothing off her.

He moved closer, crouching next to her, he dabbed the cotton into disinfectant, and held them with a pair of forceps.

"This might hurt a little," he pressed the cotton ball gently against her wound – it was not deep, the bullet had grazed her skin – but still it was not a small wound.

Her eyebrows twitched, she covered her eyes with her arm.

"Does it hurt really badly?" He only realised at that moment, that Temari was not wearing anything but underwear in front of him.

A blush of pink coloured his face. He put down the forceps and took out bandages.

Temari sat up, frowning as she moved.

Shikamaru began to wrap bandage around her waist, his arms went beneath her arms and round back in front.

He shuddered as Temari wrapped her arms around him, just as he had finished bandaging her up.

He rested his hands on the couch, just next to her body.

Her head rested on his shoulder.

"Don't you remember anything?" She said softly, her hand now covering the back of his head. Her embrace became tighter. "Not even a little bit?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes, he raised his hands and wrapped his arms around her back. His hand cascaded gently across her back.

Temari shifted a little, her hands cupping his face gently. She felt her own tears rolling down her face, she stared at his face, his eyes slowly opened.

He moved his hand and wiped away her tears. "I am trying."

She took his hand in hers and moved it up, putting it on her right chest.

He flinched, but Temari put it firmly on her chest. "You once removed a bullet, right here." She pointed at where his hand was, then she moved her hand to the lower left of his abdomen. "I once removed a bullet, from here."

"What are we?" He asked, frowning. "I have so many questions in my mind, I don't even know where to start."

"You are getting there," Temari pressed both of her hands firmly on his head, she stared into his dark obsidian eyes. "I know you are."

"I don't want to, sometimes, I just want it to stay at this moment, with you."

Shikamaru clasped her hand in his, soothing her long sleek fingers.

"What if I remembered everything, and then suddenly, you are not the Temari that I know? What if I am not the Shikamaru I thought I am?"

Temari froze for a second, looking away.

"I am tired, Shikamaru." She said softly, as she stood up without another word and walked into the room.

Temari dropped herself onto the bed, closing her eyes as she sighed softly.

She truly was tired.

She just wanted to tell him everything, right here, right now.

But she knew better.

For him to know everything in one go, it will kill him. Or worse.

 _It will drive him insane._

This is simply another bullet that she had to take for him.

* * *

Author's note:

Another (confusing) chapter!

Enjoy as Shikamaru discovered more about his forgotten past!

V.S.V xoxo


	8. Monster

He woke up, the sun peering through the curtains of his living room.

Stretching his arms, he stood up and walked towards his room. He opened the door quietly; he saw that she was still asleep.

He pinched himself and made sure that he was not still dreaming, he moved closer and crouched down, staring at her face.

Her eyelids were shut, long eyelashes brushing her face. Her sandy blonde hair cascaded across her face, covering part of her tall nose and full lips.

Her chest heaved upwards and down slowly, she snored lightly.

He watched her, silently, smiling at himself.

 _If only he could freeze this moment, and just stay this way…_

But instead, he had to remember – his true memory.

"If you keep staring, I will stab you in the eye," she muttered in her sleep; he smiled.

"Good morning," he said lazily, as she opened her eyes. She smiled at him mischievously.

"Feeling better?" He eyed her well-bandaged abdomen; she nodded.

He reached out and touched her face, a jolt of electricity seemed to have ran through his body.

 _"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" He felt his chest pounding, her bandaged face crinkled into a smile._

 _"I am fine," she said, her hand reaching out to touch his face. "Just a few cuts here and there."_

 _"You could have died."_

 _"So could you." Her smile was warm and inviting, he felt the moistness running down his face. "Look here, crybaby, you brought me back."_

 _He remembered her face becoming cloudier from the tears welling around his eyes._

"Shikamaru?" He could feel her warm hand on his face, she was pressing onto tears streaming down his face.

Her gaze turned more intense, she cupped her hands onto both sides of his face. "Do you remember? Anything?"

"Yes," he answered. "You were gravely injured that time, bandaged all over."

Temari sighed in relief. "Good, good," she pushed herself up and eagerly pressed a kiss onto his forehead.

Shikamaru suddenly wrapped his arms around her, he sighed as he buried his head onto her shoulder.

"I don't want to lose you," he muttered, his arms wrapping tightly around her. "I can't."

Temari slowly wrapped her arms around him. "Do you remember anything else?"

He closed his eyes tightly, his head hurting from trying to think. "No."

"We will look into the card we took yesterday, it would probably give you some more answer." Temari soothed his back, smiling painfully.

She felt her palms sweating – even she did not know what was in that card.

"Wait, before that," he took out a piece of paper, and began to scribble all over. "Let's group everything together."

Temari stared as he scribbled again, she watched as he spilled his trial of thoughts all over the paper.

"Let's see, I am a member of project labyrinth, just as my friends were – then my memory was neutralized, and from what I remembered, I have known you for a much longer time, even before I killed Hidan." He looked up at the ceiling. "The most important part here, is who is the mysterious guy who informed you about me, and why my memory was tampered."

"Right," Temari nodded in agreement, she stared at him, as he put the card into his computer.

"Here goes nothing," he took a gulp as he run the scanner.

The screen darkened as it faded out to a video.

"Project Six Paths – progress report." The narrator had a strangely familiar voice.

The camera turned to a boy with dark red hair, he stared hollowly into the camera with his teal green eyes – Shikamaru thought he saw him somewhere before.

What he did not notice was Temari's expression – she stared in shock and horror, as well as relief, as she glanced at the date.

"Shukaku had been in stable condition during daytime, but once at nightfall, he becomes extremely volatile."

The camera clicked before switching to another subject – the blonde hair boy, Shikamaru remembered his file said he was neutralized.

"Kurama is highly dangerous, unable to contain his emotions, we have decided to neutralize him and made sure he fails to discover the extent of his own power."

The two said nothing as the screen faded and turned into another title.

 _Project Labyrinth._

The face that appeared on the screen startled Shikamaru more than any face could.

It was the face of Asuma, his mentor, his beloved mentor who was savagely killed by the bastard Hidan.

As his lips parted, Shikamaru questioned his own sanity.

This was not Asuma, but that was the face of the man he loved dearly, like a big brother.

"The subject is Nara Shikamaru – he is highly dangerous, his intelligence allowed prediction of every single move of his opponents and probabitlies of such actions in a split second." The voice reported coldly, Shikamaru could feel himself visibly shaking, he was not sure whether it was out of shock or anger.

"I have been tasked to test the ambit of his emotional control, and see whether it would be too volatile that it would jeopardize the mission."

Another man stepped into the frame, Shikamaru felt his jaw dropping – he could never forget that face, for an entirely different reason.

The silver, slicked back hair, violet eyes that haunted him – it was unmistakable.

His mentor stood in the same frame as his murderer.

"Should Asuma fail, I shall continue to test his emotional control," he said plainly.

The screen darkened, and the video stopped.

Shikamaru looked down at his hands – something in his mind just popped, as if a fuse had blown in his head.

"But that phone call – he told me that Hidan killed Asuma…" He began to mutter, his eyes darting to and fro, he looked frantically around the room. "Wait, that phone call – was it fake?"

He turned at Temari, staring at her desperately, he sought for the truth in her eyes.

"What happened? To Asuma, to Hidan, what happened?" He seized her by the shoulders, and bore his eyes straight into hers.

"You are hurting me, Shikamaru." She said, almost whimpering as his fingers dug into her flesh.

"What happened, what happened?" He asked, he felt that his sanity was on the verge of collapsing, everything he knew – was it all a lie?

"I don't know!" Temari pushed him away hardly, panting for breath. "You have to remember, only you know what happened that day."

He shut his eyes, pressing his hands hard on the side of his head, he tried to think.

 _Asuma._

 _Hidan._

 _All he remembered was seeing Asuma's lifeless body, blood draining out of him forming a pool of crimson around him._

 _He remembered kneeling next to him and bawling his eyes out._

 _No – this was the tempered part, or was it?_

 _He dived deeper._

 _"No, Asuma, I don't want to fight you."_

 _"Kill me, or I will kill you."_

 _"No." He shouted as he dodged yet another move._

 _"Do it!" His mentor shouted as he plunged forward, a blade in his hand._

 _"NO!" He shouted, as his body involuntarily turned and took the blade from him, instinctively he drove the blade into his body._

 _He remembered hearing a illegible scream, it lasted for a very long time._

 _Only now, that he remembered it was no one else, but he who screamed._

 _Hidan did not kill Sarutobi Asuma._

 _Nara Shikamaru did._

 _Nara Shikamaru killed his mentor._

 _Nara Shikamaru is a heartless, murderous monster._

 _Sarutobi Asuma is dead while Nara Shikamaru was still breathing._

 _He does not understand, not a single thing._

He curled himself up like a ball, right in the middle of the living room.

Temari approached him slowly, gently he placed her hand onto his shoulder.

"Shikamaru?" She asked carefully, he did not move for a second.

The next second, all she knew was he was clutching onto her wrist, pushing her away. He was speaking, no, growling at her, his face covered with tears, his eyes red; the expression on his face was borderline insane.

"Why? Why did you make me remember!" He shouted, he pulled at his own hair as he collapsed back into a crouching position, a foetal position in which he felt safe.

"Why do you have to tell me that I am a monster?" He said, whimpering, his voice weak and sad.

Temari closed her eyes as tears rolled down her face.

She feared that the worse had happened.

She covered her face with her palms, as tears began to roll down her face.

In searching for the Shikamaru who had been gone, she might have lost him forever.

* * *

Author's note:

Here's the bomb :o Now, will Shikamaru go insane, what will Temari do?

Please don't have a heart attack just yet :3 Read and enjoy xoxo

V.S.V


	9. Inseparable

He remained still for hours, curled up like a foetus, crouching on the floor.

Temari sat there, staring at him as one would stare at a statute. She observed him quietly, for the lightest movement, softest sound – anything.

She almost lost her breath, when he gently broke his stillness, opening up like a blooming flower, his head emerged from the space of his position, as he looked at her, his face the colour of ash, his eyes swollen, red and bloodshot from his soundless cry.

"You knew all along, do you." He said, softly, gravely, cutting wounds on her heart word by word.

It was not a question, it was a statement.

Temari stared at him, shaking her head. "This I didn't know."

"What do you know?" His eyes had the coldness of a dead man's gaze.

"I…" Temari found herself at a loss of words. "I don't know which part of your memory is tampered."

"What do you know?" He repeated himself – he was not going to do anything else until he learnt the truth.

"I know you have all these pieces in your mind now, that you can't link them up…"

"Just tell me what is going on!" Shikamaru pressed his hands against the side of his head. "Just tell me!"

Temari reached out and took his hand in hers, sighing softly.

* * *

 _She remembered, that the three of them – Kankuro, Gaara and her were brought to a white room – everything was white._

 _She never saw them again until some years later, they trained her – firearms, combat, poison… every skill she needed for her to become a special agent._

 _Most importantly, she learned to contain her emotions, for those who trained her said that with emotions, one would never be invincible._

 _That faithful day, they were put in combat exercise._

 _The first rule she learned was to obey every order._

 _Her eyes widened as she saw the pineapple-haired boy, sucking his teeth and defying the order to kill the girl in front of him._

 _She did her best to fight him, but to no avail, he towered over her collapsed body._

 _She hated him – she had never been humiliated in such a way._

 _She challenged him in everything, attempting to win._

 _As time went by, she realized that there was something that she won – his heart._

 _The night on the rooftop, he pressed his lips onto hers – her heart fluttered and burned, as if there was a fire kindled within her._

 _She had not feel such a strong emotion, for a very long time._

 _That night, under the stars, she became one with him; their naked bodies entwined under the soft light of the moon. He enveloped her like a coat of fire, burning every inch of her skin._

 _They became inseparable – on one hand, their intimate encounter continued under the watchful eye of those in charge, on the other hand, they were sent out to missions together._

 _Everything seemed to be normal, every thing seemed blissful until that one day, when he was called away, and she was sent on a mission alone._

 _Later, she knew that she was exiled, which on some level she was surprised – the other agents that were exiled had their memories neutralized, their tampered, fabricated memories tailor made._

 _Hers was not – she remembered everything. Even Kankuro had no memories of the facility, the training._

 _She received the phone call some time after her desperate search for Shikamaru was futile._

 _And that was how it all began._

* * *

He sank into deep thought as she stopped speaking.

After quite a while, he parted his lips.

"So, who called you?" He said, his eyes darting away. "That night when I…"

"I had no idea, that is what I was trying to find out – I want to find out who was behind all this." She said, her eyes determined. "I need to, and I have to find Gaara, whoever had your memory tampered would know where he is… yet he is careless enough to leave sufficient clues for you to regain your memory."

"It is not an accident." He looked up, the look in his eyes had changed, there was something kindling within him. "I was made to be this way," he said. "Whoever called you, wants to be found."

Temari said nothing for a second, before pulling him in a tight hug.

He felt a patch of moisture on his shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He slowly put his arms around her body, careful not to press onto her wound.

She sobbed soundlessly, her embrace tight and warm around him.

"You are back," she said softly, "you are finally back, Shikamaru."

He gently parted from the embrace, a lazy smile creeping onto his face. "Any clues on who that person might be?"

Temari's tearful smile gently faded from her face.

"I have some clues, but I am not sure." Temari said softly. "I still need more information."

He scratched the back of his head, as he further relaxed his posture.

"Ah, I am so tired," he exclaimed, slumping against the wall. "How troublesome."

Temari scooted and sat next to him, her head rested on his shoulder.

"We will find out, don't worry." Temari reached out and entwined her own fingers with his. "Ever since that day, I only have two mission – to find my brother and to expose the whole scheme."

Shikamaru held her hand closely, taking it up and putting it close to his chest.

Temari could feel his heart slowly beating against his chest.

They sat quietly for a while; he soothed her fingers with his own.

"You know what fascinates me?" Shikamaru said suddenly, turning his head and his gaze towards Temari.

Temari shook her head, as he gently cupped her face in his hand,

"Even if I can't remember anything, my body knew better, my heart knew better – no matter what happened, it knew its way back to you, I couldn't fall for anyone else, but you."

The blush on Temari's face was evident, as she looked downwards, her lips slightly trembling.

"Wh-what," she muttered.

Shikamaru smiled and gently lifted her head, his lips gently enveloping hers.

It was almost like a habit, a behaviour, when their lips touched each other, when their tongues brushed past teeth and entwined.

It was as if nothing had happened, it was as if they had never been separated by the memory void.

Under the same starry night, she became his again, the two became one once again.

Temari had not feel so alive for quite some time.

Shikamaru finally felt that he was himself, once again.

At that moment, there was only one thought on their minds.

 _Nothing could separate them, nothing._

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _A sweet moment (and implied lemon because I really suck at writing them :^) sorry) between our hero and heroine._

 _Short chapter! Enjoy xoxo will update soon_

 _V.S.V_


	10. Fact Finding

"What do you think about this?" He asked her, arching his eyebrow. "Why are everyone's memories – Ino, Chouji, and the rest of the guys, why are they neutralized?"

"I don't know, I wish we could find Gaara, he was the only one who is unaccounted for, which probably meant that his memory was intact."

Temari frowned. "Most importantly, we need to find whoever is behind this, and the mysterious person who called me."

"Yeah, he or she is probably the reason why so many clues are left for me to retrieve my memories, he or she must have done something …" Shikamaru frowned. "I wonder why."

"Speaking of which, I am trying to figure out, so I hacked into the government's database some days earlier, and there is an encrypted file, it is probably related – their conversation was interesting though … I think it was left from whatever sweep they were doing before or after the memory neutralization. I have just finished decoding everything this morning."

"Show me," he said. She turned the computer screen facing him, as he read the message.

 _Chat History_

 _Goldie: So they have started to clean?_

 _Ciervo: Yes they have, they are trying to hide everything – the whole thing was messed up._

 _Goldie: Well, they will be coming for me anytime now, are you ready to hide with the wasbeer?_

 _Ciervo: Yes I am, I made sure the little gamo would be able to uncover all this, even if anything happened to you and me._

 _Goldie: And the mustela?_

 _Ciervo: She is dead on record – I will make sure gamo and mustela makes contact afterwards … just in case._

 _Goldie: I am counting on you._

 _Ciervo: So am I, your departure will be a great diversion for them to unearth everything._

 _Goldie: So be it._

"What does it all mean?" Shikamaru scratched his head. "All of these makes no sense, except for the fact that they are talking about some secret."

"Exactly," Temari said. "All of these names referred to something – I have searched online and found out – the strange names are all animals. _Ciervo_ is 'deer', _gamo_ is 'fawn'." She wrote it down on a piece of paper. "I am pretty sure that you are either ciervo or gamo."

"I don't remember saying all that, nor do I remember anyone called Goldie."

Shikamaru said, his hand on his chin. "That could only mean I am gamo, and I have to uncover all this." He then pointed his finger at Temari. "In that case, you must be mustela."

"Probably," she smiled. "And whoever ciervo is, he is hiding with the raccoon – wasabeer, I think they are referring to Gaara, since he had dark circles like a raccoon."

Shikamaru closed his eyes for a second, before opening them again. "I think I know who ciervo is."

"I think I do too, but I am not sure."

"Me neither," he said. "But I think I know who would do that."

"Who is it?" Temari's eyes were almost burning with curiosity, she wanted to know; she needed to know.

"My father." He said solemnly. "Nara Shikaku."

"That would make sense," she said.

"Do you know that your father was involved in all this?"

"No, for as long as I could remember, he was stationed far away at a research station – he used to taught in my university."

"Maybe we could find some clues back at your university."

"Let's go there then."

* * *

They arrived at the university, it was an early Saturday morning, with little classes on that day, the campus was empty with only a handful of students.

Shikamaru walked into the archives with Temari behind him, the librarian welcomed him with two coughs.

"Hello, Mr. Nara." He said, eyeing the woman standing behind him. "Off for some morning research, aren't we?"

"Yes," he replied. "This is my assistant."

"Oh, good morning 'mam." He dipped his head towards her, and she nodded back hastily. "Go on right in," the two of them walked into the dusty archive, as the librarian took out his phone and dialed.

"They are here, Izumo, it's time to get to work." He smiled as he put a syrup candy into his mouth.

Temari anxiously looked around, as Shikamaru held her hand and led her through the stacks of books and documents.

"I remembered that I hid my father's research materials somewhere here – ah." He took a stack of paper and shoved it into his backpack. "That should be it, we can go ahead and see if there are any clues."

Temari nodded when suddenly a hand shoved her out of the way when she heard a loud bang.

"Fuck," Shikamaru muttered. "It's Kotetsu, the librarian."

Temari said with a smile as she reached into her bag and tossed Shikamaru a handgun. "I never come unprepared."

He sniggered, as he opened the backpack and gave her and himself a gasmask.

"So do I." As they put on the masks, Shikamaru tossed a couple of smoke bombs around them; the whole archive was covered in smoke, triggering the faucets above them, the sound of the fire alarm ringing and the water flowing from the faucets made the situation even more chaotic.

Shikamaru and Temari ran towards the archive door, suddenly she pulled him to a stop.

"There's another guy holding an automatic rifle, we don't have enough firepower to go face-to-face."

Shikamaru nodded after dropping the gas mask. "We are trapped, aren't we?"

"We could wait for the firemen, and we are all toast." Temari sneered. "Or maybe we can turn this into our game."

The two heard footsteps closing by, Shikamaru nodded at her, as he walked away.

Temari hid herself behind the bookshelves, as she saw the dark-haired man, approaching Shikamaru, whose hands were held high in the air.

"I don't understand." He said. "Why are you guys doing this?"

His nonchalant voice was seemingly taken by surprise. The man began to laugh.

"What an idiot," the man said. "Izumo, come and see this, we will catch the blondie later."

Temari smirked as the man began to move from the entrance to where the sound was, almost immediately, she followed behind him. As he prepared to turn, she leapt and hit hard on the side of his neck, he fell the ground with a grunt.

Temari pulled out a couple of zip ties and bound his hands and feet together in a against a pipe. She took the automatic rifle, and proceeded to the source of the sound.

"Oi, Izumo?" Kotetsu said impatiently.

"You friend is out cold for the time being," he heard a woman's voice, in horror, he turned around to see the blonde woman, with his friend's automatic rifle in her hand, pointing dead at him.

He sneered as he attempted to pull Shikamaru towards him.

Shikamaru dodged, his hand skillfully pulling Kotetsu down onto the ground and taking his gun from him.

"That's why you shouldn't be so ignorant." Shikamaru said exasperatedly. "Now, this is a drag, but I will let you live if you answer us a few questions."

Kotetsu spat onto the ground. "Do I look like I will succumb to threats from brats like you?"

Temari pointed the rifle dead onto his forehead, her green eyes glaring at him.

"Yes."

Shikamaru sighed as he crouched down. "Guess we are taking you with us then."

Temari nodded at him, as he pulled out a needle from his backpack.

"Yup, that's the tranquilizer." Temari said in agreement, Shikamaru quickly injected the needle onto Kotetsu's arm.

"You! You…" Before he could say anything, he collapsed onto the ground. Shikamaru picked him up and the two proceeded to the entrance.

"What happened to the other guy?"

"He is tied to the pole right now, the firefighters will deal with him."

"Aren't they supposed to here right now?"

"I hacked the system yesterday to make sure all signals are relayed to the fire station thirty minutes later."

"Cool," he smiled at her. "And I screwed up the CCTVs around this area of campus."

"Guess we are both doing our jobs." Temari sneered. "Now let's go."

The two proceeded to their car, throwing the sleeping man into the backseat, Temari gagged him with a piece of cloth and tied him up with zip ties.

"Where should we go?" She asked Shikamaru.

"That place," he said, a dim light in his eyes. "The white building."

"The Nest it is then." Temari smiled at him, as she started the car.

More answers awaited as the couple drove away.

* * *

Author's note:

A short chapter! Sorry about the late update, I have just came up with this plot a few days ago :p

Anyway, more answers await, now that they knew that Shikamaru's dad was involved - stay tuned!

Enjoy! xoxo

V.S.V


	11. The Second Face

"You are going to tell us everything," he said to the man, who was just awakened by a bucket of cold water. "Everything you know."

"Tch," Kotetsu spat. "You know better than me, Nara."

"I don't have time to play games with you Kotetsu," Shikamaru pointed a gun towards his head, his voice nonchalant as ever, his anger coated deep within. "Who is behind this, tell me everything, or I will make sure," he walked up to him, leaning forward. "I will make sure that you wish you were dead."

Temari shrugged. "He meant it, and you know it."

Kotetsu gulped, he stared at the younger man in front of him – his expression was cold, without the slightest clue of his thought.

"I know what you're thinking, you are thinking whether I will pull the trigger," Kotetsu's eyes widened as Shikamaru scratched his ear. His voice was cold, devoid of emotion, as if he did not care about his existence. "Let me analyse this for you – if I pull the trigger, you will die, obviously; even if I don't, my colleague here," he dipped his head at Temari's direction. "She will probably kill you."

His gaze was fixated upon Kotetsu's face. "The only way that you may possibly save you own skin, is to tell us everything you know."

Kotetsu said nothing, as Shikamaru sighed again. "Don't think of lying," he smirked. "I will know."

Kotetsu took a gulp. "What do you want to know?"

Shikamaru smiled at him, putting the gun away.

"First thing first – who's behind this?"

Kotetsu shrugged. "I don't know, I just take orders from the mayor."

"You mean Jiraya?" His mind floated to the pervy old man.

"He is not the big guy, this thing is on a national level," he said. "I have no idea who the higher ups are."

"This could mean that the President is involved." Temari suggested.

Shikamaru shrugged and turned his gaze upon Kotetsu. "Do you know where is my father?"

"You mean Shikaku-san?" Kotetsu was about to said something, when suddenly, a bloody ring appeared on his head.

Temari pushed Shikamaru out of the way. "Sniper," she muttered, as she clocked her gun.

He cursed as he pulled out his gun.

A pang overwhelmed him, he pressed his hand against his head, an excruciating pain distorting everything.

* * *

"Shikamaru?" He could see her face, twisted and distorted, everything was pulled into a vortex.

Everything turned dark.

He opened his eyes.

Everything was white around him. He glanced around; there was no one in the room.

The setting seemed like a hospital. He sat up and stared around, dressed in a matching set of white shirt and trousers, he had a lot of questions on his mind.

"Temari?" She was nowhere to be found, he tried to get off the bed, as his feet touched the ground, his feet wobbled, and he collapsed onto the ground.

The door slid open, and a woman came inside, she hurried over to his side and helped him up.

"You need to rest," she said, anxiously. Shikamaru noticed her unfamiliar face, and pushed her away.

"I don't know you," he muttered. "Get away from me."

"We are here to help you." She said; she was dressed like a nurse. "You have to let us help."

"Get away from me," he growled, as another person walked inside.

"If you don't cooperate, we will have to restrain you." The woman said, she stood tall and proud, her blonde hair tied neatly into two ponytails. Her brown eyes studied him. "You are in much better shape now."

"Who are you? Where, where is Temari?" He helped himself up, and sat on the bed. "I need to find her."

"Don't you remember anything?" The older woman arched an eyebrow. "Shizune, go and prepare the medication."

"I am not taking anything before you tell me why I am here, and where is Temari."

The blonde woman pressed her hand onto her forehead. "Aren't you a stubborn one," she chuckled for a brief moment, the seriousness returned to her face. "All you have to do now is rest up, you will get the answers you want, but for now, you listen to me – be a good patient."

"At least tell me who you are, and where am I?" He shouted, as the woman turned her back towards him.

"The name's Tsunade," she said as she walked out of the room. "And all you need to know is that you are in safe hands now."

After a few minutes, the woman called Shizune returned to the room, with a small cup and a glass of water on her tray, she put it down on his bedside table.

"I am not going to take the medicine, unless you tell me what is going on." He folded his arms in front of him, he felt well enough not to take the cup of pills in front of him.

The woman frowned. "I am not supposed to tell you, Shikamaru-san."

"Very well then," he sat there, looking at the woman, who cradled the tray in front of her chest.

"Please don't make my job difficult, Shikamaru-san." Shizune frowned heavily, urging him by pushing the cup closer to him. "I am told that I must not agitate you further…"

"Do you think I am calming down if I don't know anything?" He snapped, his hand flung across the table, the pills rained down on the floor, colourfully assorting the area.

Shizune gasped, as she knelt down onto the ground and began to pick up the pills one by one; Shikamaru shrugged and stared at her, as she returned the pills back to the cup, holding it in her hand, she put it back on the bedside table again.

"Shikamaru-san," Shizune said. "You have to calm down and listen to us."

"How do I know that you are not trying to manipulate my memory, hmph?" Shikamaru growled, glaring at the woman. "You know how hard I have fought to remember all this? I am not going to let you erase my memory again," he said, as he faced her.

"I am not going to listen to anyone of you," he said, lying back down, his hands behind his head.

The door opened behind Shizune, he paid no attention, until a strangely familiar voice rang, his eyes widened.

"It's okay, I will talk to him," he turned his face, shocked; he shot up from his bed.

It appeared that he was staring into his own reflection, only older, more composed, the obvious scar on the man's face was unmistakable.

"Old man," he muttered, as the older man placed his gaze upon him.

Shizune closed the door as she left the room.

The older man cleared his throat.

"It has been a long time, son," Nara Shikaku said, with a soft sigh.

* * *

Author's note:

A short chapter, but then everything has changed ... again :D

I hope you enjoy! This is a difficult story to write because I always have changing ideas :3

Read and review! xoxo

V.S.V


	12. Where Are You Now

"I want answers," he was blunt, hell, he had no time to lose.

He was trapped here, again, just when he thought he was finally free.

Even seeing his long missing father provided no comfort.

"What do you want to know?" Shikaku pulled a chair and sat down next to him.

"Everything."

"It's a long story."

"Do I look like I am going anywhere?" He muttered. "Troublesome. I want a smoke."

His father sighed as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"You were still a little boy when I left, how old were you?"

Shikamaru lit the cigarette and huffed out a lungful of smoke.  
"It was so long ago, I can't even remember? How could you do this to me, or to mom? You should have seen her staring at the door every night for all these years, waiting for you to come back."

"Are you going to listen to me? Or are you going to beat the crap out of your old man?" Shikaku shook his head and stared at him intently.

Shikamaru held the cigarette in his fingers. "Talk."

"Have you been dreaming?" His father's stern gaze bothered him.

"Dream-what the hell were you talking about, I was interrogating Kotetsu when…" He paused.

"Shikamaru," his father stared at him, calm as he continued. "You have been in a coma for almost a month now."

"A month?" His eyes widened. "Then what…"

"The authorities, they found you and wanted to eliminate you … well, good thing that we found you."

He pressed his hand hard against his head, panting as he tried to process the matter.

Another thing burned in his mind. "Temari, where is she?"

"We found alone on the shore of this island," Shikaku shook his head. "There is no sign of Temari."

He slumped in defeat and despair. "I have to go find her," he tried to press himself off the bed.

Shikaku stared as his futile attempt failed. "There is no point rushing to death," he said.

"Do you mean…she is dead?" He said it softly; perhaps whispering would mean that he was not telling the truth.

"She vanished." Shikaku paused for a moment, as Shikamaru cradled himself with his arms wrapping around his knees.

"She is my light," he said softly. "How am I going to keep on living without her?"

"Son," he said after a brief moment of silence. "I will tell you everything, and then you will understand."

Shikamaru took another deep breath from his burning cigarette before extinguishing it into the ashtray.

"Go ahead."

The waves crashed against the shore, breaking as they reach the ground.

As the water slowly rescinded, the water brushed past his naked feet.

It sent a chill through his mind that her body might be under the sea, rotting in the cold, dark waters.

He was not sure what was real anymore.

He was not even sure that she was real.

His father had told him, another version of this story – part of it was the same; he was chosen among others, to be trained as special agents for a top-secret agency.

While he was not the most cold-blooded assassin among them all, but he was talented – he was dangerously intelligent, being able to predict every move, and was always prepared.

But then it all went wrong when he went berserk, that was when those in charge of the programme decided to erase all the evidence, neutralize the memories of the experiment subjects.

Shikaku was one of the scientists of this programme, he did not want that to happen to him, so this happened.

His own father tempered his memories and that of Temari's, so that both of them would remember everything when triggered.

His trigger was no one but Temari.

Shikamaru shivered in the cold, as he stared at the bleak grey sky.

The wound on his hand ached; he moved his hand onto it and pressed on it hardly.

Shizune said when she tended to the wound, that the bullet barely grazed him, that someone must have shoved him out of the way.

But he could not remember.

Is it possible that Temari was shot dead back at the Nest?

Or that she was captured?

The thought of her out there in the middle of nowhere was driving him insane.

He was slightly startled by the sudden presence next to him, he studied the man – he was around his age, his frame appeared rather fragile, he stood calmly as he stared into the dark waters and bleak sky. His hair was the colour of dried blood, his eyes was the colour of pale jade. The man did not shiver; he turned and stared back at Shikamaru.

"She is alive," he said, staring into his dark eyes. "I can feel it."

Shikamaru arched an eyebrow his hand instinctively reaching for his gun that was not there.

"You don't strike me as a man who would attempt a meaningless act, Nara Shikamaru." He said calmly.

"I remember you, I saw you in the files…" Shikamaru muttered.

The man blinked.

"You are Shu…" The man raised a finger and pressed it against his own lips.

"I don't like being called that name – my name is Gaara."

His finger left his lips as he spoke. "Your father kept me here away from those who want to harm me. That was the deal he made with my sister."

"Temari?"

He nodded and turned his head back at the sea.

Shikamaru stared down at the murky waters as they grazed by his ankles, his gaze wandered slowly to the horizon, his heart ached as the sun emerged from behind the film of grey clouds, its ray peering through and shining on him.

His eyes thinned into a line, as he whispered to the wind.

"Where are you now?"

* * *

Author's note:

Another chapter! I hope you enjoy reading this story :3

Read and review! x

V.S.V xoxo


	13. Decision

"What do we do now?"

It was a question that Shikamaru had in his mind, he stared into his father's brown eyes; the man stared back at his son.

"We wait, for the best moment." He said blandly, without much other thought. "You are both in grave danger, Gaara and you, the authorities would love to have you."

"What about Temari? What if they have her in their hands?"

"Well," Shikaku placed his gaze upon Gaara before moving back to his son. "There is hope that she is out there safe and sound."

"You are not going to do anything?" Shikamaru stared at his father, dumbfounded. "If you're not, I am going to get her."

"Then you would be sending yourself into a trap, even if they have her, they would definitely use her to get you."

"So be it," Shikamaru spat. "I don't understand what is so important about me, let them have me."

"How can you not understand?" His father shot up from the chair as he walked and seized his son by the collar angrily. "You cannot fall into their hands, you simply cannot."

"Explain it to me," Shikamaru snapped, pushing his father off him. "Explain why I can't go and find her! Tell me!"

Gaara stared at the two Nara men, his expression calm like a silent lake.

"Your brain," Shikaku pointed at his head with his finger. "It is your most valuable asset."

Shikamaru fished a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it hastily. He huffed out a mouthful of air. "What then? And what is the deal you made with her?"

"Not her," Shikaku corrected his son, blinking. "Her father, to be more exact."

Shikamaru arched an eyebrow as his father continued.

"I made a deal with Rasa, to keep his children safe, in exchange he will make sure that everything else was handled." Shikaku sighed. "This whole thing began as a cross-nation project, to develop biological weapons, special agents for military use. Rasa and I were the person-in-charge for both sides, and as per the governments' requests, we put our children into the selection."

"And then I was selected, so were they."

"You were born for this, so were Temari and Gaara." Shikaku added. "Then you were separated into different programmes, everything went well, until one day…"

"Then what?" Shikamaru asked, Gaara now looking at both of them curiously.

"Then it happened when the weapons development department created the 'apocolypse'." Shikaku sneered. "A weapon that was only made possible because of one person – you." He stared at his son. "Your intelligence, it was the thing that made the bomb possible."

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru stared into his father's eyes, struggling to understand what his father was trying to tell him.

"It is a modified nuclear bomb system, powerful and deadly precise," he said. "It can destroy a nation with one push of a button, no one will survive."

"And then? Shikamaru arched an eyebrow.

"When we put you into hiding, we hid the code with you," he said. "Rather, within you." Shikaku stared as his son breathed out another mouthful of smoke. "You are the only one who can activate the code. They were planning to test it when you went berserk – suddenly, you just lost control and I had to salvage the situation by repairing you, so they said."

The older man then turned to Gaara, and smiled sadly. "You on the other hand, were the only one among all our human experiments to be able to contain the transformation, and remain calm. We had to neutralize Naruto because he was so unpredictable, but you… your father made me promise to keep you safe."

Shikamaru extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray; he stared at his father in disbelief. "So they want me, so they can use a deadly weapon to destroy cities and kill people? How troublesome and uncreative.'

He turned around and stared at the dark monitor hanging in the center of the room.

"So many people died because of a stupid bomb, because of me." He laughed a little, pressing his hand against his head. "Then what about your deal with Temari?"

"After she regained her hidden memories, I contacted her, I promised to keep Gaara hidden and safe, and she would bring you to me, keeping you safe from those who tried to harm you, that was the deal."

Shikamaru felt his heart ache with a jolt, the thought of her in pain was simply unbearable.

At the same moment, his phone, his cell phone which had not rang for a very, very long time, made a beeping sound.

It was a message.

He reached down and took his phone.

It was a message from Chouji, and the message was clear.

 _Your mother is sick. Come home._

Then he realized that his mother, Chouji and almost all his close friends had been calling him in the past time that he had gone 'missing',

"Mom is in hospital, I have to go," he said, Shikaku reached out and stopped him. "You can't, son," he said bluntly. "This could easily be a trap."

"That's my mom, your wife," he said. "I am not going to leave her alone."

Shikamaru shook his father off, only to be stopped by the woman who tended to his injuries.

"Your father is right, it is probably a trap," said Tsunade. "They had probably compromised the neutralized agents and using them as pawns, you can't trust any of your friends, you can't trust anyone."

"Then why should I trust you?" He wanted to shove the woman out of his way, but she stood her ground, glaring at him as he sucked his teeth.

"Because I can kill you whenever I want to, that's why." She spat. "Now, I know you want to save your girlfriend, and you mother is probably in danger as well, we will arrange for something to be done, but I need you to stay here."

Shikamaru arched an eyebrow, as he walked out of the room.

Tsuande stared at his back as she sighed softly. "I hope he doesn't do anything stupid," she said to Shikaku, as Gaara left the room after Shikamaru.

Shikaku sighed as he stared at the open door, he said nothing.

What they did not know was that Gaara stopped Shikamaru in his tracks and stared into his brown eyes.

"I know a way off the island, I will help you," he said emotionlessly. "On one condition, I want to come with you."

For a very long time, Shikamaru had not smiled; he was confident, hopeful as he shook Gaara's hand.

"Deal."

He is going back.

He will go back for her.

* * *

Author's note:

Shikamaru is going back to the mainland for Temari! What will happen next? I haven't decided yet ... so stay tuned!

I know this story is very confusing ... sorry if you guys are confused :/ I hope you enjoy it!

I am hoping to finish this relatively short story so that I can start a new one asap!

V.S.V xoxo


	14. Reunite

The tunnels were dark, as Gaara led the way with a dimly lit torch.

Shikamaru followed, thinking about what their steps was when they walked, further and further into the tunnels

"When no one was looking, I hid a boat in one of the caverns, that led to the open seas." Gaara said. "I have some supplies ready, just in case."

"Why don't you leave the island on your own?" He asked, as the red-haired man stopped in front of him. He turned around and stared at him with tranquil, jade-like eyes.

"I don't have a reason to," he said, his face still calm and emotionless. "I would have left, but I don't know why I should. Shikaku said I would be safe here, but now, I have a purpose."

Shikamaru smiled as he lowered his head and smiled.

The treaded in the dimly lit channel for a while before reaching a small motor boat, he hopped in after Gaara without the slightest hesitation.

Starting the engine, the boat glided through the dark waters of the cavern and into the broad moonlight.

Gaara was handling the boat as he stared at the darkness, the dim moonlight just enough for him to make out the boundaries of the equally black sea and sky.

"It is not as far as it seems," Shikamaru stared at the dimly lit city that started to appear on the far horizon.

Gaara blinked as he steered the boat. "I could barely remember the city now," he said softly, he slowed the boat slightly as he turned and looked at Shikamaru. "What is our plan?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes for a brief moment.

"We will sneak to the hospital and see if my mother is there, after that, we will hide and then look for Temari first thing in the morning."

Gaara voiced no opposition, as a deserted dock came into their sight.

The lights were dim when they reached the shore.

He was very quiet, something about Gaara reminded him a lot of Temari, his mind wandered, as she wondered where could she be.

* * *

 _Wake up._

Her eyes opened abruptly, she painfully avoided the blinding floodlights.

She tried to move, her hands and legs were bound, the surface which she was laid upon was slowly elevated.

"Welcome, Temari," the floodlights dimmed as she stared dead ahead, whoever was talking had the most irritable voice. "We have been expecting you for quite some time now."

"Let me go," she spat, glaring at the person, slowly emerging from the shadows.

The person in front of her, she only figured out after a few seconds that the person was a he, his long dark hair cascaded across his face, he was outrageously pale, two shades of purple slashed across his face.

"I know you," she said, hesitating, something pondered deep inside of her mind, and like a ball of tied threads, she had no idea how to sort it out.

"Of course you did, you were made this way under my supervision." He smiled, walking closer and staring her straight in the eyes with his serpent-like orbs.

"My name is Orochimaru, does that ring a bell?"

Her eyes widened in realization, her hands jolted forward, only to be held back by the leather straps restraining her.

"I am sure you remember now, do you?" He licked his lips, the sight of his elongated, snake-like tongue disturbed her greatly, but she was trained not to show it.

"I am in charge of the whole programme, until your father and Nara Shikaku decided to jeopardize the entire thing," he said, as he began to laugh hysterically.

Temari tried not to pay attention to him, as his laughter subsided.

"It does not matter, all I need now is to find the two of them – Gaara and Shikamaru." He smiled at her, clutching her chin with his long fingers. "And I know exactly how to lure them out."

Temari glared at him, her lips did no attempt to answer to his threats.

"There is someone that I would like you to meet," said Orochimaru, as he turned his head sideways.

A familiar shadow appeared in front of her, as it takes one step and another, and another, she opened her eyes, bewildered with disbelief.

There was only one word in her mind.

 _Impossible._

* * *

Only when they hit land, Shikamaru realized that his plan must change – the dock was too far away from the hospital, besides, he was pretty sure that whoever wanted him and Gaara would be waiting for him there – they would think that it was the message that brought him back to their side.

For the same reason, he could not go back to his apartment, nor could he go to any of his friends – knowing what happened, they might well be under the control of the enemy.

"Where do we go now?" Gaara asked him, as another pang in his head hurt his boggling brain. He knew Gaara would come in handy if they encounter any form of resistance, but the fact that Gaara was unaccustomed to everyday life was a terrible drag.

"We are quite far away from the city, we might have to sleep in the woods tonight, we will see what happens tomorrow morning."

They found a dry place for the night, the weather was slightly cool, but they will manage, on his way he managed to scavenge some newspaper, which they can use to keep warm.

As Gaara huddled himself, his back against the tree, he stared at Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru," he called his name, as the dark haired man turned around, he looked at him hesitantly.

"Yes?" Somehow, coming back onto the city made him feel more at ease than being surrounded by the endless ocean on the island. Shikamaru suddenly felt more talkative than he had been in a while.

"My sister, Temari," Gaara said, he was visibly confused, puzzled about the words he should use. "Why do you care so much about her?"

"She was my light, without her, I can't imagine how my life would have been like, perhaps I would live in eternal bliss, but that," he sighed softly with a smile. "That is just troublesome." Leaves cackled as he shifted slightly.

Gaara leaned against the tree. "I don't really understand."

Shikamaru sighed softly, as he smiled at Gaara. "We are like light and shadow, where she is, I will follow."

Gaara's jade like eyes locked onto him for quite a while. "Could it possibly mean that you love her?"

Shikamaru paused for a second, and scratched the back of his head. "It is the more troublesome way to put it, but yeah," he said. "I love her."

His eyes lightened up for a second, before darkening. "What if they put you two against each other on gun point?"

The thought pierced through him, of course he had analysed that possibility.

"It depends," he said. "I guess sometimes, you can't escape from certain fate."

"I am programmed to protect myself," said Gaara. "If my sister held a gun against me, my power would compel me to exterminate, it does not matter who stands against me," he said, almost like whispering. "I am a monster."

 _A monster._

 _He thought he is a monster, yet Shikamaru, Shikamaru knew that he was a monster himself._

"You know, when it comes to it," he said, with a pat on Gaara's shoulder. "You might just be able to control yourself, despite being programmed," blinking, he smiled. "Just like I did."

Gaara looked at him, his expression confused.

"Nevermind, I will explain it to you some other time," he stretched and yawned. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

The first brush of sunlight opened his eyes, as he did, he realized that his partner was missing.

"Fuck," he cursed as he stood up and looked around.

Just as he thought that they were discovered, Gaara emerged from behind him.

"I couldn't sleep, I went on patrol," the man replied coldly. Shikamaru almost thought he had a heart attack.

"Well, we stick together now," he said. "What have you got from scouting?"

Gaara and him walked in the woods and found themselves at the nearby second hand car lot, it was early in the morning, birds were chirping while most are still sleeping.

"Let's go pick one up," Shikamaru said. "You stay here and when you hear the engine fires up, head for the entrance and hop on."

Gaara nodded, as he snaked his way through the wire fence of the lot, he checked, and picked one that looked the most reliable. Creeping around, he attempted to fill up the tank before picking the lock of the car.

Almost without hesitation, he tampered the wires and fired up the car, immediately, he drove out of the lot, crashing the locked gate on his way.

Whoever was in the house was clearly awaken by the commotion, as he saw the lights being turned on in the house.

"Hop on!" Gaara did not hesitate before jumping on, he drove away as fast as he could. Noticing that no one was following them, he returned to normal speed.

"Where are we heading?" Gaara asked.

"To the hospital," he said. "They probably won't be expecting us at this hour, and it would probably be the safest."

The car glided through the road, blending in with the morning traffic, as he pulled up and parked the car in the hospital's car park.

He pulled the hood over his head, covering most of his face. Gaara followed him as they walked, facing the ground most of the time.

He stared at the walls as they walked up, carefully avoiding the circuit cameras.

He found himself at the reception, clearing his throat, he rested one of his arm onto the counter.

"Excuse me," the receptionist's eyebrow arched, as he spoke. "I am looking for a Nara Yoshino."

The receptionist did not look at him as she clicked and typed on her keyboard.

"She is on the fourth floor, room A." She said, as Shikamaru thanked her hastily and left.

He blinked thoughtfully, as Gaara hurried and followed him into the elevator.

As they stood alone, Shikamaru leaned forward.

"Do you have guns with you?" He smiled as he spoke.

Gaara nodded without looking at him, as Shikamaru take a gulp.

The elevator door opened, as they stared.

The corridors were empty, as if they were waiting for him.

He knew his predictions were correct; they were walking straight into a trap.

His hands rested uneasily at his waist, as they walked through the corridor.

"Wait out here, if anything goes wrong," Shikamaru nodded at Gaara before entering in the room.

Two of the beds were empty, he walked up, a woman was lying down - her back was facing him. The other paitent was sleeping, facing upwards.

He held the gun in his hand, hidden at the side of his thigh.

"Mom," he called out to her. The only comfort he had now was the solid wall against his back.

The woman coughed, and sat up, still facing him with her back.

At that very moment, he raised his gun.

In a split second, he fired, first at the patient that was still lying down, she jolted as an automatic rifle fell out beneath the blankets, then he proceeded to shoot at the woman, as she collapsed, it was clear – she was not his mother.

Part of him was relieved, before leaving the room hastily.

"Gaara, we must go now," he said, only to see Gaara facing the end of the corridor with a gun in his hand.

Gaara, out of all people was trembling, with a gun in his hand, he turned and pointed his gun in the same direction.

For a brief second he thought he was blind, rather he thought he had gone mad.

He found himself staring into a pair of familiar eyes, those very same pair that he had been longing to see.

There was something strange about this woman who stood in front of him, as she pointed a gun at them with a strange expression.

But it was her - the blonde hair, the green eyes, it was unmistakable.

"Temari," the sound of her name escaping his lips was almost like a death sentence of his heart.

* * *

Author's note:

Well, that is one cliffhanger... now what will they do?

The story is closing in on an end! Stay tuned and enjoy xoxo

V.S.V


	15. Perfect

"Temari, put the gun down," said Shikamaru, hoping his voice would somehow make this Temari in front of him step out of her trance.

"Surrender," her voice was almost mechanical, devoid of warmth, devoid of character – it was as if she was a robot. Her green eyes had lost their shine, as she stared deadly ahead.

"What makes you think I would?" He clocked his gun, and aimed straight at her. He must not panic, at least not at the state that Gaara was in.

"Temari," the red-haired boy stared in disbelief. He fell silent.

From his peripheral vision, he could saw Gaara's hand trembling – the boy was clearly disturbed, confused by the situation he was in.

It was simply too much for him to handle.

"Temari," he said to her, hoping it would get inside of the seemingly hypnotized blonde in front of her. "Put the gun down, we can talk this out."

"I said, surrender," she replied coldly in a monotone. "Or I will shoot him."

"He is your brother." There was a certain despair that hinged itself in his voice. "I can't let you do that."

Temari's grip tightened, as she smirked. "Try me."

His finger arched around the trigger, as he closed his eyes.

It was almost as if it was involuntary, his mind began to run, like a programme embedded inside, it was as if he could see the future.

Inside of his head, Temari fired a shot, towards Gaara, and another immediately towards him.

As he opened his eyes, it was as if time had frozen.

"Gaara," he said under his breath, as the boy turned towards him.

"I need you to unleash your powers." He said with a stern tone. "I have read your files, you can manipulate sand."

Gaara nodded, staring at the man with disbelief.

"I need you to…" his voice faded into a soundless whisper, his eyes glancing at Temari as he did. Gaara nodded, he could read his lips.

The woman at the other end was enjoying the scene much less, she glared at the duo, as they turned to face her, it was as if the last bit of patience had drained away from her.

"Enough!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

The bullet came flying out of the barrel of her gun, as it did, Shikamaru leapt and pushed Gaara out of the way.

At the same moment, Gaara raised his hand, his eyes fixated at the woman's hand.

From the potted plants, a surge of dirt began to emerge and hurled itself towards Temari's hand.

Skillfully, she sprung backwards and evaded the surge of dirt.

Shikamaru stood in front of Gaara, who scrambled up immediately afterwards.

She regained her balance and almost immediately fired another bullet.

The bullet grazed his arm, drawing blood almost immediately; he bit his teeth in pain.

"Gaara, run," he turned towards him. "Go and find help."

"What about you?" He asked, staring at him in disbelief.

"Just go," he said gritting his teeth. "This is what I must do."

Gaara looked at him hesitantly, as Temari stared at them in amusement.

"Go!" He raised his unwounded arm and fixed him aim at her.

Gaara nodded and ran, he noticed that Temari's gaze remained unfazed.

Shikamaru sighed softly as he stared deep into Temari's green eyes. She stared at him, as if he was a cardboard of a target practice.

"Do we have to do this?" He asked her again.

She readjusted her aim. "Surrender."

"Or what will you do?" He said. "Your brother has gone away."

"What about your mother?" She smirked. "Your real mother."

He tensed up a little.

"If you surrender now, she will not be harmed." She said.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now?" He aimed straight at her chest, he tried to contain himself, yet his hand shivered.

This was too unlike her, it was as if she was possessed, she was not herself.

"You know what?" He said. "I will strike a deal with you."

She arched an eyebrow, seemingly interested. "What is it?"

"I will fight you, no guns, if you win – you can take me."

She smirked as she eyed his injured arm. "Are you mocking me? You think you can defeat me with an injured arm?"

"Deal or no deal." He answered bluntly.

She blinked. "Deal, be careful of what you wish for."

She threw the gun onto the ground, as he did the same.

Before he knew, she began to charge towards him, a swinging fist approached him. He raised his hand and block, with a flip, he reached out and tugged onto her shirt.

As he fell, her shirt ripped off from the force, revealing her bra clad chest.

"How dare you!" She exclaimed as she reached in with a kick towards his head.

Strangely, he smiled as he stared at her, with perfect reflex he evaded her kick, and rolled to the side.

"You lost to me before, as I could remember," he smirked.

"I don't!" She twirled and landed another kick, Shikamaru had a clear view of her abdomen, he shook his head as he blocked her kick.

Before she could realize, he had crouched down and swept her down.

Temari landed on her back. As she pressed herself up, the next thing she saw was the barrel of a gun, pointing at her.

He seemed unfazed, rather, determined, as he glared straight at her.

"You said no guns," she said, glaring at him. "What kind of man are you to break a promise?"

"I wouldn't," he said coldly. "The deal was void from the beginning."

"You prick," she glared at him. "Go on then, shoot me."

He sighed softly. "How troublesome," his grip around the trigger tightened.

"Remember, you asked for it."

 _Bang._

She stared ahead in disbelief, the bullet went clean through her chest, he walked up to her.

"You are perfect," he said to her. " _Too_ perfect."

He took her shivering hand and pressed it against her chest, against the wound where blood was welling out.

"There was once a bullet here, I removed it myself." He stared deadly into the eyes of the woman lying before him. "Whoever is controlling this clone of Temari, you can never replicate scars, nor can you replicate memories."

He blinked at the woman. "I don't know what you have done to real Temari, but I know what you want."

As the woman slowly die before him, he leaned in towards her ear.

"I know you are listening," he said. "Bring Temari, and I will give you what you want. I will be waiting for you at the Nest."

With that being said, he pressed the barrel against the head of the woman.

Her head was blown to pieces, revealing within it was a small electro-magnetic device.

He wiped the blood off the machine with the woman's clothes as he inserted the device into his ear.

 _Hello, Shikamaru._

He was not sure whether he was annoyed or spooked by the voice that came through the device.

He was only sure that it was the most irritable voice he had ever heard.

He took the device and dropped it onto the ground. With a stomp from his feet, he squashed the device into pieces.

He picked up the guns he found; casually slinging the automatic rifle behind his back and picking up the supplies he could find, he left the hospital.

He knew full and clear.

 _The end was near._

 _And he is going to save her._

* * *

Author's note:

I hope this is adding up well ... I will try to update and finish the story! I hope you enjoy it :3

The story is coming to an end soon! Thanks for the love as always xoxo be sure to check out my other stories too :D

V.S.V


	16. Finish what is started

He waited in the control room of the Nest, the dust covered the machines that once oversaw the entire operation.

He lit a cigarette, the spiciness of the tobacco tingled at the end of his nerves.

As he heard footsteps closing in, he pointed his gun towards the entrance.

Every single pore of his body was tingling with nervousness, he spat the cigarette onto the ground and squashed it with a step of his feet. He sighed, a ball of smoke leaking out of his half-opened lips.

He breathed as the door opened, and in came two person – one he had dreamed of seeing, the other he dreaded to see.

"We meet again, Shikamaru," he tried to contain his irritation.

Orochimaru smiled at him eerily, as Temari stood next to him. She stared ahead, her hands were bound; the look in her eyes was telling him to leave her alone.

It was his hunch that he was looking at the real her.

"How do I know that you didn't just bring another clone with you?" He fixated his gun at the man, his voice calm.

"Well, why don't you just shoot her and me then?" Orochimaru said, there was a certain cockiness laced in his voice.

"Before that, let me know your terms." He said. "Don't try to do anything stupid."

"I want what I rightfully own – the right to use the invention I created."

Shikamaru sighed exasperatedly. "I am not trying to take credit, but you do realize that without me, the apocalypse would never be born in the first place, do you?"

"Of course I do," Orochimaru smiled as he approached. "I have always known that you are remarkable, ever since the first day."

Shikamaru shrugged, the gun remained pointing at him with a deadly aim.

"Look," he said. "We had a deal, you bring me Temari, I will give you what you want."

Orochimaru seized Temari by the arm and pushed her in front. "I did," he said, he licked his lips with his elongated tongue.

"Just in case you are going to shoot me right now, I have a small insurance," the older man grinned.

Shikamaru had anticipated it, as he caught a falling Temari in his arms.

"Are you alright?" He said softly, keeping an eye on Orochimaru, who stared at the couple with a superior smile on his face.

"He injected something into me, I assume that it is poison," she said. "I don't have much time left."

"Don't be stupid," he said. She smiled at him painfully.

"Now, I am sorry to interrupt you love birds," he said, staring at them with his serpent like eyes. "But you have your part to fulfill, Shikamaru."

He turned around and hissed at him, raising his gun towards him. "You…"

"I promised to give her back, now, the codes." Orochimaru demanded. "If you obey my words, I will give you the antidote."

Shikamaru smiled at him. "Guess what, you have mistaken."

"Oh, have I?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, he flicked his hair with great interest.

He smiled at Orochimaru lazily as he pulled out a handgun casually, and pointed it to his own head. "You are not going to get what you want if you push it too far – tell me Orochimaru, how long will it take for you to develop another apocalyse, without my brain? Ten years, twenty years? And without the previous resources – will you even be able to develop anything at all?"

He gave Orochimaru his best sarcastic smile, as he clocked the gun. "I don't care, she doesn't – what about you?"

Orochimaru hissed as he frowned. "The codes, and I will give her the antidote."

"You inject the antidote right now," he raised his voice. "Or else, you can see your dream shatter with just one shot."

Orochimaru sucked his teeth and hissed angrily, as he pulled out the needle, Shikamaru moved forward and snapped the needle off his hand.

"What are you doing?" Orochimaru demanded, as Shikamaru stabbed the needle into his arm, pulling it out again in a swift second. Only a little of the liquid entered himself.

Temari gasped as he did.

"If that is extra poison you are trying to inject, then you just screwed yourself over – we will see." He passed Temari the needle.

Orochimaru's face darkened, the vein bulged at the corner of his head.

"Very well then," he said. "You give me no choice."

With a snap of his finger, a few more entered the chamber.

Shikamaru tried to contain himself, his grip fettered a little as he saw both of his friends, Ino and Chouji entering, in between their hands held a strange device.

He could recognize it anywhere – it is a bomb.

"Now, give me the code, or I will detonate the bomb – surely you would not want your friends to die with scum like me and you?"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth. Chouji and Ino stared at each other emotionless – it was clear that both of them were hypnotized.

"The code," Orochimaru said, his voice growing increasingly irritated. "Now."

He pressed onto a button in the dust-covered machine.

A dim light began to appear on the large screen, as it glitched and flashed, a red, burning skull appeared on the screen.

 _Enter code._

It blinked, Orochimaru crossed his arms with great satisfaction.

"I can't focus, with that bomb ticking," Shikamaru complained. "This code changes every minute, if you disturb me any further, one wrong move and it will shut me out."

Orochimaru sucked his teeth. "Move this bomb outside," he ordered, as his friends slowly walked out of the room with the device in their hands.

Temari stared at him with concern, as he nodded at her gently. "Inject that thing, I think it is really the antidote."

Temari nodded as she took the needle and injected it into her. She tightened her lip as she did.

Shikamaru turned back to the screen, he closed his eyes for a brief moment, before he input the codes.

The programme began to run, as Orochimaru stared with great satisfaction.

He nudged Shikamaru out of the way, as he began to set the targets, Shikamaru hurried to Temari's side.

"Are you alright?"

"I am," she found him staring at the scar on her chest, his eyes teary.

"Don't worry, I am me," she smiled.

"Right," he said with a soft sigh. "Let's get out of here."

He helped her up and with a swift pull of his gun, he pulled the trigger.

 _Bang._

Orochimaru yelped in pain as he held onto his hand, dropping the controller.

He quickly swiped it up, and smiled at him.

"You lost anyway," Orochimaru tried to grin triumphantly while in pain. "I have already sent out the orders."  
"Are you sure?" Shikamaru shook his head. "Look, I don't have time, but you can watch the show here," with another pull of the trigger he shot him in the leg. "I have prepared a show just for you."

* * *

Shikamaru ignored the cries and curses of Orochimaru, as he helped Temari out.

On their way out, his friends remained in their hypnotized state, without a word, Shikamaru disarmed the bomb with a few clicks on the controller and led the two of them out.

"What about them?"

"We will deal with them later."

The two of them followed like zombies, as they walked further away and away from the nest, Temari stared back, he could tell that she was worried.

"Don't look back," he said to her.

It seemed like an eternity when a loud pang came from behind them. The entire Nest erupted into a massive ball of fire, engulfing whatever was standing on that ground.

His friends collapsed onto the ground at that moment, losing their consciousness as Orochimaru was blown to pieces behind them.

"What happened?" Temari asked.

"When I was waiting, I hacked the programme and decoded the entire thing, when he input the locations, it triggered the self-destruction system I installed in the Nest." Shikamaru said. "While my fifteen-year-old self can formulate the code, the present me can override the entire system and change it for good."

Temari smiled at him. "You sound different."

"How different?"

"Grown up, reliable – kind of makes me want to marry you." She grinned.

"Tch," he smiled back. "Why not?"

It was at that moment when Chouji and Ino slowly crawled up, the lighter blonde pressed hardly onto her head, staring around at the bare wilderness, she turned around and saw him.

"Shikamaru? What happened?"

He casually slung his hand across Temari's shoulder. "It's a long story," he said with a smile.

"Well, that being said, it's going to be a long walk home." Temari added, shaking her head.

"Not necessarily," he pointed at the horizon, and there came a rather large van moving towards their direction.

The vehicle stopped in front of them, and from the driver's seat, a red-haired boy came walking up to them.

Without another word, Temari threw her arms around him and wrapped them around him tightly.

Shikamaru smiled as he ushered his friend onto the backseat.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Author's note:

Well that's it ... With Orochimaru blown to pieces and everyone united - the story is going to end soon! As usual, I am going to end it with an epilogue next chapter ... :) This has been quite some work as the entire storyline had been changing here and there, I was planning to write a spy story which turned out to be more sci-fi than espionage oriented ... aw wells, it turned out okay I guess haha

I hope you enjoy this and my other stories as always! Love your support, always inspired and enjoyed xoxo

V.S.V


	17. Face among Faceless

The mindless crowd went on their way, crisscrossing like an ever-changing pattern as they trotted through the streets of the city.

Signs hung around - the annual election was just around the corner.

The LED signs shone and glowed as night falls, the large television screens projected different commercials.

Just as the pretty girl was smiling as she held the drink in her hand, the screen zapped, thinning into a dark line.

The crowd was shocked by the sudden void created by the silence, men and women, elderly and children on the streets turned their heads; those in their houses stared in awe as their television rebooted, slowly a symbol emerged, it was a circle, within it enclosed a square.

"Citizens of Konoha," the voice broke the silence, as the crowd stared. It was a cool, magnetic voice, with an air of nonchalance lingering with each vocal vibration, as he spoke, his voice became lower and suddenly higher - finally turning into a cold, lifeless electronic voice.

"I am here to expose a well-plotted scheme of your government." The voice continued. "A scheme that spanned over years, across nations - an attempt to put its people under control, to turn innocent children into biological weapons."

The crowd stared, some covered their mouth in horror as it continued; some shook their head, their eyes watering, their bodies shaking in disbelief.

"The government is filled with those who were involved in their plans," it began to list out names - from district councillors to the president, almost all of the politicians were named.

"Trust no one," it said. "The power is in your hands to vote them down."

"The power is within you, use it well." The voice concluded. "The decoded files are available online."

The screen zapped again, the commercial returned, the girl with honeyed smile looked delighted as she downed the bottle of soda.

The crowd was thrown into an uproar, many began to take out their portable devices, checking their computers to look at the files.

The crowd was thrown into mass hysteria as the scandal exploded; its influence grew exponentially as the media probed and questioned. Rallies ensued, public gatherings stationed themselves right before the government headquarters.

The economy plemented, the state was in an anarchic state.

Finally, those involved were forced to resign - many were arrested and put under investigation.

* * *

The students settled down in the lecture hall - anxiously, they awaited.

He walked inside, there was a certain nonchalance in his stride as he walked from the side door of the lecture hall to the lecturer's stand, he looked around as he put his stack of books on top of the desk.

"It's been a while," he blinked. "I have taken leave for a while, i am sure that the other professor have taught you well."

A student raised his hand, he nodded towards him. "Where have you been?"

"In fact," Shikamaru cleared his throat. "That is the topic of today," he turned around and took a piece of chalk in his hand.

In a precise yet sluggish manner, he wrote across the board.

 _Finding oneself._ He wrote, as he dropped the chalk and clapped his hands clean.

"What defines you?" He said. "This is the exercise I am planning to do with you all today."

He handed out a stack of paper, and asked the students to pass it out.

"I want you to write down what do you think defines you as a person."

The students obliged, there was chatter and sounds of scribbling; he folded his arms as he stared at them.

"For those who wrote down things related to your personality, tell me, how do you know about them?" Shikamaru tapped his fingers on the stand as he spoke. "Do you have these qualities inherently, or did society made you think that you possess them?"

He shrugged. "I don't have a definite answer, I am simply probing you to think - the exam will probably be something like this."

The students sighed exasperatedly; Shikamaru smiled, out of the blue he noticed a lone hand among the crowd.

"Yes." He pointed to the student, the girl stood up and cleared her throat. "Then what do you think defines you?"

Shikamaru paused for a second, he held a pencil in his hand and twirled it around.

"I have thought of this question before myself," he smiled as he put the pencil down. "I have thought of it as chasing shadows, the way you discover yourself - you think you saw faces, each of them playing a role in your life - but yourself - it is an elusive, faceless creature that you spend your whole time chasing."

He paused, as the students stared at him. "But then…"

He paused again, then smiled. "While memories can be tampered, there are things that will not change."

He pressed his hand against his chest. "Instinct, something you are born with; it affects you in many ways, it shapes you - and it guides you."

Shikamaru ended his comment with a yawn. "Well, you never know until you face the end, eventually." He took his books, and left the lecture hall again.

* * *

As he returned to his office, he found her standing there. She turned around as he entered, he locked eyes with her.

Smiling, he walked up to her. "What brings you here?"

"Can't believe you are already back here teaching." She said, shrugging a little. "Thought you will take a little break before anything else."

"Teaching is quite a leisure, compared to what we have done." He reached over and held her hand. "Besides, my father is back at home with my mother now, ever since the prosecution granted him immunity for testifying against all the other corrupted persons - someone has to do his job here."

Temari grinned, holding his hand. "I know, Kankuro is still befuddled when I brought Gaara back."

She led him to his table. "I made you coffee."

Shikamaru walked closer to her and held her by the waist. "You still haven't told me - why are you here?"

"I was just thinking about something - since we have exposed the government and all, why didn't you…" She looked at him with her green eyes. "Why didn't you give them back their memories?"

Shikamaru sighed softly as he looked into her eyes. "Something are better left untouched, I just met with Chouji yesterday, he was talking about how crazy the whole thing is - sometimes, the inconvenient truth should be bear by those unfortunate enough to bear them, and them only."

Temari leant sideways against him, he hugged her closer. "Right."

"But do you know?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him, he was smiling cooly, as he raised his hand and gently brush the stray hairs off her face.

"It is always easier if there is someone to share the burden," he pressed a chaste kiss atop her forehead. "Speaking of which, I have something to ask you."

Temari stared as Shikamaru fished a ring out of his pocket, there was a small diamond affixed atop the silver ring.

"Since you have already said you wanted to marry me, as a man, I can't make you pop the question too." He smirked for a moment, as his expression slowly turned more serious. He clasped her hand in his, staring into her green eyes with his dark ebony ones.

"Temari, will you marry me?"

She grinned, her pearly white teeth almost blinding him.

And it was at that moment, among all the faceless shadows that he saw, his instincts guided him to her.

 _Among all the faceless shadows, all those who faded away, she was the only who stayed._

 _Among all the ever-changing, shape-shifting shadows, she was it._

 _She was the light among his shadows._

* * *

Author's note:

Well, that's a wrap :D I hope that you enjoyed the story as much as I did writing it! The original plot changed quite a lot, but I guess that's just how I write - I often get struck by strange inspiration and then I just carry on hahaha

Anyway, I decided not to spell out everything, so there are things left for you vivid imagination :3 Thanks for the love xoxo Stay tuned for updates on my other stories (and possibly new ones!)

V.S.V xoxo


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